


Food Over Flowers

by DanieMarie



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Because in 2006 Myspace and AIM were the thing, Ben has slight anger and dad issues, Dorks in Love, F/M, Hopeful Rey, Rey can be a tad emotional, Soft boi Ben, co-worker love story, games-graves-the zoo, light-hearted playfulness, pillow fights sound like sex apparently, sexual tension on tap, varying degrees of wistfullness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2019-11-03 23:43:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 32,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17887379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanieMarie/pseuds/DanieMarie
Summary: Maz had told Rey that she'd probably meet some one at her job, but Rey didn't believe it. She was already seeing someone else. And yet, it happened. After three months of having to deal with his teasing, insults, rudeness, and over all rain cloud of sadness and self pity, she caught the "feels" for Ben Brooding Solo. When it was time for her to leave she wanted nothing more than to tell him, but his cool indifference caused her not to. And for the past ten months she's regretted it. Especially while being single during the last six.Now that she's got her old job back, the next thing on her To Do List is figure out if Ben Solo still works there and if he's still single.





	1. Step One

**Author's Note:**

> Thought I'd give writing some light Reylo fluff a try and decided to play off my own story of how my husband and I got together. Hope you find it as funny as I do.

   Rey exhaled as she walked up to the store front and opened the door.

 

   “Welcome to Superb Shoes,” mumbled an unfamiliar face at the register. 

   Automatically she greeted the young man in return but her eyes were already scanning for someone else. And she was disappointed to find no tall, pale figure in black standing at the second register or in the alcove next to the door. Taking in a deep breath as she headed towards the back, Rey made note that the store still smelled exactly as it had ten months ago. 

   It wasn’t that she’d loved her time working in the shoe store, but she hadn’t hated it either; and she’d left on good terms. Now that her first year of college was over and her summer break was gearing up she needed to build up her bank account again. Which was why Rey found herself subtly opening the door labeled “Employee’s Only”. Amilyn had worked with a few others, keeping spots open for those wanting to return during the summer, and Rey had a good feeling she could do the same for her. It beat trying to find a brand new job at least.   

 

   Seeing the break room was empty and the office door was closed, Rey quietly walked on back to the stockroom; all while keeping an ear out for a familiar voice. Rounding the corner she spotted Amilyn and Poe going through a new shipment and arguing over who had ordered the additional overflow. Poe threw his hands up and stepped away from the box and did a double take upon seeing her.

 

   “Rey? Hey! What are you doing here? How you doing?” 

 

   Rey couldn’t help but return the man’s infectious grin as he came over to give her one of his playful bear hugs. 

 

   “Hey Poe. It’s good to see you too. I’m actually here to see if Amilyn’s got a spot open for me to fill during the next four months or so.” 

   Poe let out a clipped laugh as he let go a turned to face Amilyn. “Hear that? Your problem just got solved. Rey’s back looking for work!” 

   “Really?” Amilyn asked, stopping her work to come over.

   “If you’ll take me back,” Rey said with a shy smile. 

   “Of course! Come into the office,” she waved, walking away and leaving Poe to deal with the mess of boxes.

 

   Rey gave Poe a quick wave goodbye then followed after Amilyn. Her office was still a mess of papers and pictures, but Rey was just thankful she’d caught the woman in a seemingly good mood and during a time when she was in need. 

 

   “It's funny that you happened to walk in today. We just had someone quit and I was freaking out over having to fill their shifts. How soon can you start?”

   “I can start next week.”

   Amilyn scanned her calender then the posted schedule and pressed her mouth into a line. Grabbing a pen and scribbling out a name on the paper then finally looked over at Rey and smiled. “We’ll make due till then. How’s next Wednesday sound?”

   “Great!”

   “Wonderful. We’re actually having a store meeting Sunday morning, so I want you here for that, but otherwise you can come in and work the afternoon shift next Wednesday and I’ll have you back up on the schedule then. I still have all your hire info from before so at least we won’t have to do that again.”

   “That’s great! Thank you Amilyn.”

   “No, thank you!” she said as she got out of her chair and motioned for Rey to step out so she could shut the door. “We’re glad to have you back. See you Sunday!” 

 

   Rey gave a small wave and a nod and watched as the woman turned back toward the warehouse then turned to leave through the Break room. But before leaving, Rey looked over to the posted schedule and scanned down the list of names. There were quite a few people she didn’t know. She wasn’t too please to see that Armitage was still listed. But she was happy enough to see that Hera, Poe, and Finn’s names were still on there. But she kept scanning till finally she found his name. Ben. Granted, Rey couldn’t be one hundred percent sure it was “her Ben”, but she felt it was a safe bet.  Sadly he was listed as on vacation well into next week. Rey hummed to herself for a moment then decided to open the door and sneak back out; right as she heard Poe start yelling about label stickers. 

 

   “Thanks for shopping”, said the bored looking boy at the register.

   “See you Sunday”, Rey replied. 

 

   Rey sat in her car for a moment before turning it on. That had went a lot easier than she’d expected. And even though she hadn’t ran into Ben at least she knew she’d see him again. Granted she had no clue what she’d say once she saw him, but at least the memory of him sulking and playfully insulting her wouldn’t just be suck in the back of her mind like it had been these last six months. 


	2. Did you hear?

   Ben sighed and let his head fall back onto the headrest as the air conditioning blasted over him. He was fifteen minutes early again. He could spare five minutes to just sit here alone. Yet the problem with just sitting was he’d start thinking. And he hated hearing his thoughts. It was like having angry bees buzzing in his head, telling him how much of a waste his time off had been, how he really needed to do something with his life, how he shouldn’t have stayed up till four in the morning hanging out at the gas station again, how he really should have washed his dishes instead of just leaving them for his mother to do.

   Ben groaned and turned up the car’s stereo as loud as his ear drums could handle and focused on the lyrics instead. At least he’d have work to focus on for the next couple of hours. 

  
  


   “Hey Ben! How was your vacation?” Amilyn asked as she counted the register drawers. 

   Ben wasn’t big on sharing his personal life with others. “Fine. How was the store?”

   Amilyn gave an exaggerated groan. “We got seventy-five cases of sandals from Store 9 out of nowhere! Half the labels were mixed up! It was just a mess. Then we had a guy give us a hard time over a boot return...which I still need to send back to the manufacturer.”

   “I’ll take care of that.”

   “Thanks. And then when I talked to Jessica she got pissy and quit.”

   Ben took the store keys from her. What he wanted to say was  _ Thank God _ , what he said instead was, “So I didn’t miss much.” 

   Amilyn gave a small laugh as she lifted the drawers back into her arms. “Poe finished getting in the stock but there’s still a few that needs to go on the floor. ...Balance sheets are good.”

   Ben nodded and stepped out of the office and locked the door behind his boss. “Do you need me to cover any of Jessica’s shifts till you find someone?”

   “No, thank goodness. Already got it covered.”

 

   Ben nodded again and waved a short goodbye. He wouldn't have minded the extra pay, but he was glad to hear she’d already found someone. It would just suck because she’d probably ask him to train whoever it was. He hated training new people.  

   He clocked in, looked at the pair of boots that were sitting on the Ship Out shelf, then went to look for a box big enough to fit them. While doing so he heard Poe’s cheery whistle coming toward the back. 

 

   “There he is! Ben Solo! Back from his self imposed exile. You and your girl find something fun to do?”

 

   Ben rolled his eyes. Poe wasn’t a bad guy, but he could be nosey. 

 

   “Not really. I was reminded how much of a crazy bitch she can be and quickly made excuses to not see her for the rest of the week. Hung out with Hux at the dinner a few nights.”

 

   Poe clocked out and moved out of the way so Ben could print a new label for the box. 

 

   “Those the boots that hard ass returned?” Poe asked, gesturing to the boots Ben was placing into the box he’d found. 

   “I guess. She mentioned something about a difficult return, Store 9 sending sandals, and Jessica quitting.”

   Poe broke out into a laugh. “Oh yeah! You should have heard it.”

   “I’m just glad she’s gone,” Ben commented. “I couldn’t stand her.” 

   Poe hummed. “Well I get the feeling was mutual. But, hey, something tells me you won’t feel that way about her replacement.”

 

   Ben glanced over to find Poe giving him a lopsided smirk. He narrowed his eyes. 

 

   “Who is it? It’s not Tallie is it?” he asked in a tone of dread.

   “Nope!” Then he paused for effect. “It’s Rey.”

 

   Ben paused as the name and the images of her he’d filed away came trickling back. And here he thought he’d never see her again. 

 

   “Oh,” he lamely croaked. “Well..” he cleared his throat, “At least it’s someone we won’t have to train. So...that’s good.”

 

   Poe bust out laughing. “Come on, Solo. You’re really gonna stand here and act like that doesn’t even faze you a little?”

 

   Ben frowned and turned away to grab a cart full of stacked sandal boxes. When he went to push it towards the door Poe stood in his way and looked him square in the eyes. 

 

   “She asked if you still worked here.”

 

   Ben bumped the cart into the man’s chest, making him move out of the way. 

 

   “So?”

 

   “So! She still has a thing for you, Solo.”

 

   Ben took a deep breath and wished he was back in his car. And to his frustration, Poe was still following him onto the floor. When he finally wheeled the cart to his spot in the boot section he turned to face his expectant coworker. 

 

   “She’s engaged, Poe. Why should I care?”

   “Well according to Finn, she’s not anymore.”

 

   Ben tried his best to ignore that nugget of information and the small blip of hope it caused him. But Poe must have saw it flash across his face because as soon as it did Poe slapped the top of a shoe box like it was the hood of a used car he’d just sold. 

 

   “You need to go after her,” he said with certainty. 

 

   Ben frowned at him then focused on the tissue paper he was ripping out of the boxes. 

 

   “I’m in a relationship.”

   Poe shook his head and sighed. “Well, have fun enjoying your crappy relationship you spent a week avoiding while your crush works in the women’s department.”

 

   And with that Ben was finally left alone. Only now he was left alone with his thoughts of Rey. Once he was done with the cart of sandals he wheeled it towards the women’s department, leaving it most likely for Rey to run on her next day. 

   When he found himself walking into the Break Room to look at his and Rey’s schedules he swore it was just to see when those sandals might get put away. 


	3. Friend Request

   Rey plopped in her computer chair and spun around while waiting for the internet to connect. After being hooked into to the school’s high speed internet for the last ten months it was like having her teeth pulled when she’d signed back on to Maz’s AOL account upon returning home. She tapped her foot through the first stage, then chewed her nails through the second, then decided to pull her hair back up when the third stage was complete. Finally.

   Her school email account was still empty so she checked her personal email. She highly doubted it had anything either but one never knew. Sure enough a notification of a Myspace friend request was there waiting for her. Curious, Rey clicked on it and signed into her account. It was from a Benjamin Ren. Rey gave the name a skeptical look but clicked on the profile. Something about the guy’s picture seemed familiar. 

 

   The page was a black background with mostly red lettering. Not much in the way of personal info. The guy was a tad older than her with an apparent love for the band, Knights of Ren. 

   Rey cocked her head as something clicked in her mind. She clicked on the weird angled photos. Most of them were of amater digital art or pencil sketches, which Rey couldn’t say much against seeing as she also had very few of herself and currently had her profile pic as a Japanese styled nine-tailed fox. But it was the way the guy’s nose looked, and how his long dark hair draped over his face. He wasn’t wearing glasses in two of them, but he was in the rest. And some had him clean shaven while others featured a little chin scruff and mustache.

_Likes black. Likes Knight of Ren. Long hair and nose. Wears glasses._ _Named Benjamin. ...Benjamin….Benjamin…_

 

“Oh shit!” Rey sat up and looked over the photos again. “Ben? ….How the hell did you find me?”

  
  


~

  
  


   Ben had went straight home that night rather than staying out and had immediately looked Rey up. It wasn’t hard. There weren’t many girls around the area with the name Rey. And even though she hadn’t used a picture of herself there wasn’t many who he knew that would use a Kitsune as a profile pic. 

   He clicked on it. Posts from her friends featuring glittering palm trees and floating hearts were aplenty. But the fact that the attached blog was nothing put a scene from the movie Underworld, and the bright blood red text that scrolled down it, made her sad musings and poetry seem right at home. Ben couldn’t help but smile to himself. He’d had a feeling she wasn’t all cheerful sunshine. 

   He flipped through her photos. Sure enough the past photos of her and her punk of a fiance were now missing. And apparently she’d styled her hair differently over these past couple of months. She looked a little more mature too, though she was still just as beautiful as he remembered. 

   He flexed his jaw and held his breath as he sent her a friend request. Then he sat there and stared at the screen. On her last day Rey had acted happy and had been joking with everyone except him. He’d tried to not let it bother him, but it did. Picking on her had become a highlight of his work week. Hell, he’d even went so far a coming in on his days off just to see her, claiming he only came by to buy a drink from the vending machine because it was cheaper than going to the store. Dumb girl even seemed to believe him. Yet as he was leaving that day she’d ran down the aisle after him, grabbing his arm and asking that they part as friends and with a hug. She’d been playful back to him but not once had she touched him or ever asked to be friends. And there she was asking for a hug. He knew the moment he told her he didn’t like hugs and didn’t think her fiance would appreciate them being friends that he was being an ass. Hurt was written all over her face as she stepped away from him and gave him a small goodbye. 

   Ben yanked his hair out of his face and signed off Myspace and brought up Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. It was all in the past now. There was no point thinking about it. If she didn’t accept it then that was his answer. And if she did...well then she was still was interested in being just friends. Simple as that. 


	4. Step Two

   Today was it. The first day they worked together again. Granted, he was working the morning shift and she the evening shift, but that still gave her four hours to say something. 

   On a whim she parked one space away from his car. Subtle. Walking back to clock in she was nervous. Kaz, the bored kid she’d saw running the register, was back up there again today and building a tower out of shoe polish. Finn was in the Men’s section, fixing laces on the display Nikes while beatboxing to himself. Hera was thinning out the rack of purses. Rose was jumping up and down, trying to get a kids shoe back on the top shelf.  Armitage was in boots, inspecting how many displays didn’t have price tags attached. So that left only two places for Ben to be hiding.

   Rey grabbed her smock, groaned upon seeing Armitage was the closing manager, then and held her head high as she walked with feigned confidence to the stockroom to clock in. She bit her lip so as not to smile when she hear Ben yell in frustration. Turning the corner she found him digging through a cart labeled “Near Mates”. 

 

   “Is anyone out there that can hear me?” he asked without looking at her. 

 

   Rey walked past him and opened the door that lead to the Clearance section and peaked around. 

 

   “Nope.”

   “What they hell! I just went through this cart when I got back and now it’s got stuff in it again? Damn it! I swear Kaz is useless. It’s not that hard! You check both shoes and see if the size numbers match.”

 

   Rey let out a small laugh as she walked over to the computer to clock in. It was nice to see Ben hadn’t changed much. 

 

   “How long has he been here?”

   “A month.” 

 

   Rey looked back over at him. He was looking at her now. Just standing there, slouched. Since it seemed like he wasn’t going to say anything first, Rey told herself this was her chance. Yet the back door opened and shut with a loud bang. Rey jumped as Armitage walked over to the computer. Ben went back to taking the Near Mates out of the cart. 

 

   “Ah, Rey. Have you clocked in?”

   “Yep.”

   “Good. Rose clearly needs assistance running the shoes up on the wall. Help her with that then go through those new sandals and figure out which ones need display tags.”

   “Okay.”

 

   Rey glanced back over at Ben but his back was turned to her. Rey nodded to herself and went out onto the floor through the Clearance Room. Maybe today wasn’t her chance after all. But at least she had Rose to occupy her evening with. The clear lack of customers wasn’t going to give her any distractions. 


	5. Step Two - Take Two (sort of)

   “Cutting it a bit close don’t you think?”

 

   Rey audibly exhaled as she clocked in with one minute to spare. She’d always either ran late or got somewhere at the last second. But Ben didn’t need to know that.

 

   “Well I made it didn’t I? We can’t all be freakishly early like some people.”

   “There’s nothing wrong with being punctual.”

   “Didn’t say there was.”

 

   And with that Rey walked out onto the floor with a grin and the last word. Boy she missed their verbal fencing matches.

 

                                                                                                                 ~

 

   Rey pushed all the boxes into place so that they were perfectly lined then leaned back to look over the row she had just straightened. Perfect. At least for now anyway. It drove her crazy that she’d spend so much time making everything look nice and then one or two customers would come in and just wreck it all. Rose said kids were worse but Rey wasn’t entirely sure that was true.

 

   “I wasn’t aware Superb Shoes paid you to sit and stare at shoes.”

 

   Rey roller her eyes over to give Ben an unhumored look as he stood over her. But she stood up anyway and brushed her stray hairs out of her face.

   “I get a good view from the floor. Helps me make sure they’re perfectly lined.”

 

   Ben quirked an eyebrow at her.

 

   “Besides, I’m pretty sure Superb Shoes does indeed pay me to look at shoes. A whole store full.”

 

   She watched as he struggled not to smile, and that only caused her to flash a smirk and a raised brow of her own before walking away.

 

   “You know,” he called after her. Rey stopped to watch him slowly walk after her. “You did a good job running those sandals the other day. They look nice.”

 

   This time Rey held back her smile. He rarely complemented someone. But despite wanting to fully accept it she knew there had to be a catch. Ben was rarely even nice.

 

   “Thanks, Ben.”

   He nodded. “Yeah, I was impressed. ...Impressed you managed to run them correctly this time.”

 

   There it was. Ben had been the one to train her when she’d first started and had shown her how to run the boxes according to size. She’d ran a section of wall and six rows for him. The only problem was, she had done so with the size order running backwards without even noticing. He’d made fun of her for months, and apparently still hadn’t let it go.

 

   “Ha. Ha. Very funny. Would it truly kill you just to give someone an honest to God compliment for once?”

   Ben shrugged. “It might. Being an ass is my specialty. Wouldn’t want to lose my only talent.”

 

   Yeah, Rey had totally missed this. She was trying to think of something witty to keep the conversation up but then Kaz’s voice came over the intercom telling her to take the call on Line Two.

 

   “Have fun with that,” he quipped.

 

   Rey groaned and walked over to the phone near them that was located in the middle of the store. As she answered and listened to the lady’s request she watched as Ben hung around, looking at the flip flops she’d hung on the end display a few hours ago. He seemed very focused on them for a moment then abruptly walked off back to the boot section, his odd gait making his long hair sway. Rey wanted to puzzle over it but she didn't have time. The old lady on the phone wanted her to go looking for a narrow toed canvas shoe, and that was going to take a some time.

 

                                                                                                                ~

 

   “You sure you don’t mind closing? I know Ben’s not the funnest person to close with,” Finn said, looking hopeful with his keys in hand and jacket already on yet holding back out of some ounce of guilt.

   “Really, Finn. It’s fine. I’ve closed with him before. And unlike you I don’t have plans tonight.”

   Finn flashed her a pearly white smile then dashed out the door. “Thanks Rey!”

 

   Ben was caught up with counting the drawers when he saw a blur run past out of the corner of his eye then another figure slowly walk up to the otherside of the counter. He glanced up to see Rey propping her head up with her arm on the counter and staring out the windows. He was glad Rey stayed. Finn was too twitchy for his taste.

 

   “You look tired. You could have gone home and made Finn stay. It was his turn anyways.”

   Rey covered a yawn then shrugged. “He’s meeting Poe at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch some soccer game or something. Besides, I don’t mind. I’m just going home to check my email and sleep anyways.”

 

   Ben grabbed both drawers and his keys and headed for the office; Rey trailing slowly behind. He left the office door open as he filled out the paperwork for the night and smiled as he watched Rey slide down the wall to sit on the floor in the hallway.

 

   “You look tired too.”

   “I am. I haven’t slept but maybe four hours in the last two days.”

   “What! How are you even functioning?”

   He shrugged. “Can’t sleep. So I don’t.”

 

   He cut a glance over at her to see the disbelieving look on her face.

 

   “So...what? You just watch tv all night?”

   “No. Usually I’ll draw or hang out with Hux and Mitaka. Or I’ll wander around Walmart.”

   “Oh yeah. You did mention before that you do that.”

 

   He tore the deposit slip off the pad and stuffed it in the deposit bag with the cash then walked back to the stock computer; Rey trailing after him.

 

   “So, found any new comic figures for your nerd collection?”

   “No. ...But I did walk out of there three hundred dollars poorer and with a new stereo system.”

 

   He looked back over at her as the printer began printing the daily reports. She shrugged and nodded her head as if to say she wasn’t judging him.

 

   “So what’s the plan for tonight then,” she asked. “Walmart or attempted sleep?”

   He huffed, disappointed with reality. “No. I wish I could go home and sleep. But I promised my girlfriend I’d stop by after work.”

 

   The only noise in that room was the hum of the lights. Normally Rey would have gotten up and turned off the store lights and air conditioners, but she hadn’t. Ben looked over at her and found her looking at him with wide mortified eyes. He blinked at her but then it clicked.

 

_Oh shit. I never told her about Shaa. Crap! Uh...quick Solo, say something!_

   “I don’t know. I’ve been putting off seeing her for days now and…”

 

   Rey swallowed and nodded, looking squarely at the calendar on the wall. Ben internally winced and turned to turn the lights off.

 

   “I didn’t know you had found a girlfriend. That's… Yeah. ...Glad to hear you moved past your old ex. That's...good. How long have the two of you been together?”

 

   God, she looked pitiful sitting there on that stool. Ben felt so stupid. He grabbed the reports and headed back towards the office; Rey following once again.

 

   “Just for a few months, but we don’t see each other much.”

   “You….don’t like her?”

   Ben plopped into Amilyn’s chair and brushed his hair out of his face.

 

   “I mean, I don’t hate her. She’s not a bad person. I just...I don’t know. We’re very different. And I’m not convinced she’s one hundred percent over her old boyfriend either. So that makes it a little weird. And she’s a bit crazy, but not in a good way.”

 

   The look on Rey’s face could be summed up as cautious and confused.

 

   “So, if you don’t really like her, why are you still with her?”

   “I don’t know. I’ve actually been trying to think of a way to break up with her for the past week or so. But I’m just worried she might go and do something crazy if I do.”

 

   He watched as Rey bit her lip and dug her shoe at a tear in the carpet. This was nerve wracking. Part of him just wanted him to shut up and finally leave for the night and the other part of him wanted him to spill his guts and tell her the truth.

 

_Rey, I’ve liked you since last year but I was too depressed and lovesick to notice. And it wasn’t till Hux pointed it out that you liked me did I realize how stupid I was. And I’ve wished ever since that I’d given you that hug you wanted. It’s just I never thought I’d see you again so I figured I should just move on, but then you came back and I’ve been trying to think of a way to break off this weird relationship I’m in and ask you out and..._

   Instead he asked, “What about you? I don’t see you flashing that engagement ring you had anymore.”

_God your an ass, Solo. Whatever. I’ve been wanting to ask._

 

   Rey splayed her arms at her sides and scoffed as she threw her head against the wall.

 

   “God, Ben. You were so right about him. Teedo was such an asshole.”

   “Told you.”

 

   She shot him a look but then followed it with a playful smile. He’d take it. She’d admitted he was right.

 

   “I could tell things were starting to go south around October but I just told myself I was being silly. It all blew up in my face in December. Called me after a day out once I got back to the dorm. Said he didn’t love me anymore. Hadn’t for a couple months.”

   “What an ass.”

   “Yeah. I think he took a liking to this other girl we’d hang out with on occasion.” She shrugged. “I had a feeling something bad was bound to happen. We had nothing in common and our dynamic was pretty uneven. But it’s okay! I returned his jerseys and sweaters, and hats, and gave the ring back with the words ‘Thanks for nothing’ written inside the box. He gave me back pillows that he’d stole and a box of love letters we’d wrote. His mom’s Poodle’s had pissed all over the pillows so I threw them and our photos away. Then I lit the box of letters on fire. I enjoyed that part.”

   “Wow.”

 

   An image of Rey happily burning a box of that asshole’s letters was something he didn’t want to let go of just yet. Ben was pretty sure he loved her a little more for it. He stood and locked up the safe, then the office behind him.

 

   “Well, we should really go now, probably.”

   “Yeah.”

 

   They both walked in silence down the darkened aisle and dashed out the door once the alarm was set. Then quietly walked to where they were parked. He’d noticed she’d started parking next to him.

 

   “Well, have a good night. Enjoy your day off.”

   She smiled at him. “You too. ...Don’t stay up to late. I’d like you to not die.”

 

   He couldn’t help but huff a laugh as he watched her get in her car.

 

_Yeah. I guess continuing to live might not be such a bad thing._


	6. New Messages!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Myspace messages were so exciting to get

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for no update yesterday. 3rd Trimester technical difficulties. But all is once again well. On with the story!

**Mail Center**

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 **From:** Benjamin Ren                                        **Block User    Delete From Friends**

 

 **Date:** May 25, 2006  6:17AM                            Flag as **Spam** or Report **Abuse** [?]

 

 **Subject:** Hi

 

 **Body:** Thought you’d like to know I got five whole hours of sleep last night. Also your voice still changes pitch while you talk. That’s so weird. You sounded like some anime chick while talking on the phone.

 

~

 

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 **From:** Rey Kanata                                        **Block User    Delete From Friends**

 

 **Date:** May 25, 2006  10:36AM                      Flag as **Spam** or Report **Abuse** [?]

 

 **Subject:** Hi to you too

 

 **Body:** That’s what you were doing? I can’t help how I talk! Well you still walk funny. Glad to hear you got some sleep. Though I think you’re supposed to sleep for like seven hours or something. How’d your visit with your girlfriend go? Did you figure out a way to tell her?

 

~

 

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 **From:** Benjamin Ren                                        **Block User    Delete From Friends**

 

 **Date:** May 25, 2006  10:20PM                          Flag as **Spam** or Report **Abuse** [?]

 

 **Subject:** No

 

 **Body:** I didn’t stay long. She was busy hanging out with relatives and I didn’t want to stay. Her uncle seems nice but he keeps offering me a job and I keep turning him down. I walk funny cause I got my leg caught up in the chains on my bike when I was younger and wreaked it. Never went to the doctor to have it looked at so my foot has always twisted outward ever since.

 

~

 

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 **From:** Rey Kanata                                        **Block User    Delete From Friends**

 

 **Date:** May 25, 2006  10:37PM                       Flag as **Spam** or Report **Abuse** [?]

 

 **Subject:** Ouch!

 

 **Body:**  Why didn't your parents take you to the doctor? Now I feel bad for picking on you. If it makes you feel any better, I wreaked my bike into a rose bush at full speed while trying to learn how to ride without training wheels.


	7. A clue

   “Thanks for handling that Voucher, Ben. Those things are really confusing,” Kaz said, as he scanned a pair of laces and a can of water repellent.

   “Not a problem,” Ben replied as he quickly walked away before he was stuck up front yet again.

 

   He nodded to Finn who was helping an older gentleman with dress shoes then looked over to see how things looked in Womens. There was a middle aged woman sitting on a stool trying on fashion sandals and had four different boxes open. Ben narrowed his eyes and walked over to her.

 

   “Anything I can help you with, ma’am?”

   “Oh, no. I’m fine. Just trying to decide.”

   “Well if you do, let us know.”

 

   Then he stepped away and made a zigzag to where Rey was dusting a few rows down. It took him a moment to realize it was her that was singing.

 

   “Just a castaway. An island lost at sea, oh! Another lonely day; With no one here but me, oh. More loneliness; Than any man could bare. Rescue me before I fall into despair, ohhh.”

   “Rey?”

 

   She turned to face him and stopped singing to give him an expectant look. She’d put her hair up at some point during the day. It looked good.

 

   “Yeah?”

   “Have you checked on the woman in sandals recently?”

 

   She gave him an annoyed look and leaned against the display top.

 

   “I asked her when you were called up to do the voucher and she gave me the same answer she gave you when you asked her just now. She has the four different pairs, right? And has also made a mess and left paper in the floor? I’m aware.”

 

   Ben frowned and looked back over at the woman who now seemed like she was leaving. Rey sighed and walked past him towards were the lady had been. Ben weaved his way towards the registers and made it look as though he was inspecting a rack of scrubs. He glanced at the woman’s feet. The pair wasn’t a style they sold. He lingered a little longer to watch Kaz open the box then close it; once again forgetting to check the sizes. Ben walked up to the second register and pretended to type in a search.

 

   “Kaz, did you check that the sizes matched?”

 

   The woman was already swiping her card but Kaz froze and looked scared as he realized he hadn’t. In a not so subtle manner, he took the box out of the bag and looked at the sizes.

 

   “Uh, yep! They match! ...Here you go ma’am. And your receipt is in the bag. Have a nice day!”

 

   Ben nodded to the woman then stepped away from the register and gave Kaz a warning glare while ignoring the apologetic smile the boy gave him. Passing back through the scrubs into Womens, Ben caught sight of Rey’s hair popping up then back down again in one of the rows. The mess the woman had left was now gone, he noted. He stopped at the end of the row Rey was on and watched as she placed two boxes back and realigned the other boxes around them.

 

   “If you’re going to ask whether or not all the shoes were present and accounted for, the answer is yes.”

 

   Ben nodded. “Just making sure. You’d be surprised how often old shoes are found in new boxes. Security tags taken off and everything.”

 

   Rey looked at him skeptically.

 

   “I’m serious. It happens in boots a lot. Caught a guy in the middle of trying to steal a pair almost two months ago.”

   Rey furrowed her brows and shook her head. “That’s just crazy. Why get in that much trouble over a pair of shoes?”

   Ben shrugged. “I don’t know. But it happens. Just make sure you keep an eye open and don’t get too distracted singing.”

   Rey scoffed. “Singing isn’t a distraction. It’s to keep me in a good mood and not feel trapped in this sweltering tin can.”

 

   He gave a small smile and pushed his hair out of his face. It certainly was unbearably hot.

 

   “Just be glad your up here where the air actually works. The one in Clearance is down so all the heat from the stockroom comes out and makes it impossible to be back there.”

   “So is that why you’ve been stalking around the store for most of the day?”

   “What? No I haven’t.”

   “Yes you have. I’ve watched you walk back and forth from the back to the front more times than I can count. And I know it’s you because nobody else dresses goth-formal, and you have that funny stomp walk and always look like your in a hurry to strangle someone yet wish you were anywhere else.”

 

   Ben opened his mouth to say something back but could think of nothing. So they just stared at one another.

 

   “Well...I don’t. And there’s nothing wrong with wearing all black.”

   “No. ...But you definitely stick out because of it.

 

   Ben shook his head and turned to walk off.

 

   “Hey, wait!”

 

   Rey stepped in front of him and held her hand out so as to stop him. Ben used every muscle in his body to halt his momentum but watched as her hand brushed against his shirt then pulled away.

 

   “I wasn’t making fun of you.”

 

   Ben took the moment to look over her face. Rey was an open book for the most part, yet tried to put on some air of sweetness or cockiness when others came around. She’d play the part when she had to. But in this moment there was none of that; just open, vulnerable, Rey. Yet he still felt defensive towards her comments, so he’d react the way he always did.

 

   “Do you always sing badly to crappy songs while you clean?”

 

   Most would have just told him he was an ass and walked off. Rey typically would have insulted him back. But not this time. She still stood in front of him, a little closer than she probably should, and looked away briefly to smile before looking back up at him.

 

   “I’m gonna let that one go since I know for a fact that I sing decently and because I clearly hurt your feelings.” Then she stepped back a little. “Besides, this isn’t the greatest station to listen to but you can’t go wrong with a Police classic.”

 

   Then she turned away from him and went back to where she had been dusting. Ben wasn’t sure why his chest felt so tight, but it did. He looked around to see that the store could live a few more minutes without him managing it and followed after her.

 

   “They once played (Don’t Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult on here. The Knights of Ren did a metal cover of it I really like, but I called the station and asked if they could play it again. They told me they didn’t have it. How stupid is that?”

   Rey grinned. “I don’t know of that song. But that is pretty lame.”

   “You’ve never heard it?”

   “Nope. Can’t say I have. But, hey, you should be proud of me. I saw a Knights of Ren album and on a whim I bought it. It wasn’t that bad!”

 

   Ben stood a little straighter and stuck his jittery hands in his pockets.

 

   “Oh yeah? Which one?”

   “Dark Side”

   “Oh yeah. That one was a bit poppy for my taste. Wasn’t bad though. They made a cool music video for the song Burning Loneliness. Kylo Ren is a god.”

   Rey laughed. “Yeah, he’s not bad looking. And that one is one of my favorites.”

 

   Ben couldn’t seem to be able to stop the small smile spreading on his face.

 

   “That came out a while back though. When did you buy it?”

   “Umm. About two months back, I guess? I bought a tank top of their’s too. Hot Topic had it on sale and it seemed like it would make a good pajama top.”

   Ben couldn’t help but laugh. “So it was an impulse buy?”

   Rey shrugged. “Kind of. ...When I came across it I was instantly reminded of you. So I bought it. Same thing happened with the cd.”

 

   Ben swallowed. She hadn’t looked at him when she’d admitted all this but there had been a slight smile on her lips as though she was enjoying the memory of it. Rey had purposefully bought stuff to remind herself of him. And was wearing it to bed no less. He shuffled in place to distract himself from the hard on he was getting, but it wasn’t helping.

 

“Well...I should, uh, get back to stalking around the rest of the store,” he said as he excused himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. I totally bought a cd and tank of a band I semi cared about all because it reminded me of my crush. And yes, I did love to sing to The Police, U2, Phil Collins, and Madonna while I worked when they would come on. Also, Knights of Ren is taking the place of the band, HIM. The album I bought was Dark Light and the song I liked was Killing Loneliness.


	8. An Idea

   “Okay, but what did you think about Two’s ending?”

 

   Ben juggled the register draws in his right hand and opened the door to the Break Room with his left. Rey was digging around in her locker while Finn just sat on the table. Biting back his annoyance, Ben walked as quickly as he could to the office, trying his best not to drop everything while unlocking the door. 

 

   “I don’t know. I’ve only made it halfway through the game,” he could hear Rey’s voice mumble from her locker.

   “You haven’t finished Kingdom Hearts 2 yet?” Finn asked in shock. 

   “No. Some of us had school work to focus on for the last few months. And, while I’m not saying it’s a bad game, I just haven’t had as much interest in finishing it as I did the first one.” 

   “How can you say that? It’s much better than the first one!”

   “I don’t know. But I do  love Utada Hikaru’s song for this one though. Simple and Clean was catchy but I adore Sanctuary. It’s so magical sounding.”

   “Sure but -”

   “One of you needs to go home!” Ben yelled from the office. 

 

   There was silence for a second. 

 

   “You’re welcome to go Finn,” Rey offered.

   “Nah, you go. I’ll stay.” Then Ben could hear him whisper, “Seems like he’s in a mood.”

   “Well?” Ben yelled. 

 

   No one said anything else but he saw Rey walk past the office door towards the back out of the corner of his eye. He frowned and pressed the tip of the pen a little harder onto the deposit slip. 

 

   “Good night, Ben” Rey said in a low voice as she walked past the door again. 

   He didn’t bother looked up at her. “Have a nice night,” he replied coolly.

 

   A pause, and then he heard the door shut. 

 

   “Finn?”

   “Yeah?”

   “Make sure the dishes in the sink get cleaned. I’m almost done.” 

  
  


                                                                                                                          ~

 

   Ben stomped up the steps to his bedroom, smashed his shoulder into the door, kicked it shut, flicked the light on, threw his keys onto his desk, walked over to turn his fan on, yanked off his work polo, and fell into his desk chair. He probably shouldn’t have been so loud coming in since his mom was sleeping, but the flutter of guilt left as quick as it came. He was too tired and pissed to fully care. Work had sucked. Visiting Shaa had just ended up making him even more angry. And rather than coming home he’d just driven around for no reason till his gas tank was almost empty. Now it was one in the morning and his damn brain was still wide awake. 

   He fired up his desktop and waited. There was a Myspace message from Rey, asking him if he’d had a rough day. Ben huffed. He was pretty certain she was asleep, though he wouldn’t have minded talking to her. He sat there for a moment trying to decide if he wanted to reply, but decided against it. It was getting a little annoying playing email tag. He should ask her if she used AIM. 

 

   Ben finally looked at the clock. He’d been sitting here staring at his keyboard, think about what all he wanted to say to Rey for the last forty minutes. Groaning, he took of his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. Rey would tell him to get some sleep. He’d only gotten three hours the night before; on his tiny ass worn couch no less. Maybe he’d just try and sleep in his car; change it up a bit. He had forced himself to learn to sleep on things other than a bed, just in case a time ever came when he wouldn’t have one. 

 

   “Maybe I’ll make a new cd to listen to.”

   He’d been listening to the same one for a few weeks now. He dug out his tower of blank cd-rom disks and started making a playlist. About halfway through he realized he was picking songs that he’d noticed made him think of Rey. Ben considered that for a moment. If she had liked Knights of Ren’s Dark Side album then maybe she’d like some of his other choices in music. An idea popped into his head and he began editing the newly repurposed playlist. Once done, he took the disk out of his disk drive, carefully placed it into a jeweled case, and wrote REY at the top. She was working the eleven to seven shift that afternoon. He could swing by work, sneak the cd into her locker, leave, ask Shaa if he could see her, and finally work up the nerve to break up with her. 

   Ben stared at the newly crafted disk for a moment then nodded to himself and got up to turn off his light then flopped into his bed. He was glad sleep came quickly.


	9. Mystery Gift

   Rey was a little bummed that Ben hadn’t replied to her message, but she wasn’t entirely surprised. It just sucked that she wouldn’t see him today. Rey turned her laptop off and went to go pack herself a late lunch. Working eleven to seven kind of wasted her day, she felt like, but at least she would get out of work while the sun was still out.

 

                                                                                                                   ~

 

   The entry door dinged. Rey glanced over her shoulder as she placed the customer’s shoes into a shopping bag.

 

   “Welcome to Superb-” She blinked. “Ben? What are you doing here?”

 

   He was dressed once again in all black, albeit more casually, and looked as though he was in a hurry. And he seemed surprised to see her.

 

   “Grabbing a soda” was all he said before quickly walking towards the back.

 

   Rey remembered then she still had to hand the customer their bag and hastily did so, adding a quick thank you. Once the customer was gone she turned back to see if she could see Ben’s head of hair anywhere. But she couldn’t. And since she was covering for Kaz while he was on his lunch break, she was stuck in place at the register.

   A few minutes later Ben came walking back up, still seemingly in a hurry. Abruptly he stopped in front of her.

 

   “Do you use AIM?”

   “Uh, what?”

   “AOL Instant Messenger. Do you use it?”

   “Oh. Yeah, I do.”

   “Good. Write down your username.”

 

   He reached over the counter and grabbed a scrap piece of paper. Rey quickly did the same, then handed it to him. He slid his over to her and pocketed hers.

 

   “Message me using that from now on.”

   “Okay.”

 

   Then he turned and headed out the door.

 

   “Hey!” Rey called out.

 

   He stopped and turned to look at her.

 

   “Will you be on later?” she asked, her tone a little desperate sounding.

   “Yeah.”

 

   And with that he was out the door. Rey blinked for a moment and stood there, trying to make sense of it all. It wasn’t till Kaz had taken back over the registers and she was on her way back to Womens that it dawned on her that Ben had left without a soda bottle in his hand.

 

   “God he’s weird,” she murmured to herself.

 

                                                                                                              ~

 

   Ben pulled into Shaa’s parents driveway. He’d called on the way to make sure she was home and sure enough she was. He took a deep breath and got out of his car. Shaa opened the door then walked back towards the living room, leaving him in the doorway and to close the door. He stood there a moment, looking at her as she went back to watching tv.

 

_You can do this Ben. Just say what you have to say and get it over with._

 

   He shut the front door and walked over to the chair her step-dad usually sat in but stayed standing. She still had yet to look at him. He balled his hands into a fist and filled his lungs with air.

 

   “Shaa, I’ve been thinking about these last couple of months and...I don’t think it's working out.”

 

   She looked over at him then and blankly stared at him. Ben’s anxiety rose.

 

   “Really?”

   Ben swallowed. “Yeah. ...Look, your nice and all, but we just don’t seem to have a lot in common and I-”

   Shaa leaned forward and waved her hand to silence him. “Ben...it’s fine. I feel the same way. I’ve actually been seeing Dustin again for the past couple of weeks. I just didn’t have the heart to tell you. I thought it might send you into some meltdown or something.”

 

   Ben blinked as he processed that.

 

_She’d been seeing her ex? She was worried about how I’d handle this?_

 

   The irony was not lost on him. And while he should have felt pissed about the whole ex-boyfriend thing he was actually somehow relieved. It was a good excuse as any to truly cut ties with her.

 

   “Oh.”

   “Yeah. I’m sorry.”

   “No. ...No, it’s fine. ...I actually had a feeling you weren’t over him.”

   “...So, your alright? About us being over?”

 

   Ben couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

 

   “Yeah, I am.”

 

   She nodded slowly.

 

   “See ya, Shaa.”

   “Bye Ben.”

 

   Ben walked out of the house, got in his car, then laughed as loud as he had wanted to inside the house. If he’d known it would have been this easy he would have done it the moment Rey showed back up.

 

                                                                                                           ~

 

   Rey wished Amilyn a good afternoon and went to her locker to grab her purse. She paused a moment upon her hand touching an unfamiliar piece of plastic. She looked into her locker and pulled out a slim cd case. Rey frowned at it. That hadn’t been there during her lunch. It was covered in black and red spirals with her name written in red Sharpie at the top. There was no other writing or song list on it. Rey mentally went through those who might know that locker number seven was hers. Two names came to mind. Finn and Ben. And something told Rey Finn wouldn’t been sneaking black and red cds into her locker. And while both of them had the day off, Ben had came in that day.

   A smile crept across Rey’s face as she thought about it. Ben had been surprised to see her and had left without his soda, the supposed reason he’d even showed up. Rey quickly walked out of the store and jumped into her car. Once she came to the stop light at the end of the street, she quickly took the cd out of its case and popped it into her player. Utada Hikaru’s “Sanctuary” began to play. Rey covered her disbelieving laugh with her hand. He’d heard her talking to Finn about it and had made her a cd. The people around her thought she was probably crazy for smiling like a fool, but she didn’t care. If it was one thing Rey had learned from past relationships it was that if a guy gave you a mixtape, he was into you.

 

   The cd was still going once she got home. Maz had asked her about it and had knowingly smiled at her once she told her who it was from. Rey had then shut herself in her room, dug out her headphones and Discman, and finished the remaining tracks.

   Rey removed the headphones and found she was still smiling. She’d sat through an hour of of metal, blues, and rock songs that mainly focused on angsty pining love. Ben could be pretty oblivious at times, but he wasn’t much in the way of subtle. Rey took this as a sign. And the fact she liked most of the songs didn’t hurt either.

   She quickly signed on to AIM and was thrilled to see he was on.

 

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** Hi

 **blackRosesNthorns:** Hi

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** I like my cd.

 **blackRosesNthorns:**?

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** I know it was you. Thank you.

 **blackRosesNthorns:** You’re welcome.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** You forgot your soda.

 **blackRosesNthorns:**...oh yeah. Well, I had to think of something to say.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** Thank you for putting Sanctuary on there. I loved it.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** Didn’t take you for an eavesdropper though.

 **blackRosesNthorns:** I’m like Batman that way.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** LOL! uh huh.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** The rest of the album wasn’t that bad actually.

 **blackRosesNthorns:** Glad you liked it.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** You have good taste.

 **blackRosesNthorns:** What’s with your username?

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** It’s a U2 thing. One of their albums, one of its songs.

 **blackRosesNthorns:** oooh okay.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** Guessing you like roses and were feeling emo.

 **blackRosesNthorns:** I’m not emo! Why do people call me that?

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** uh huh. Sure. no reason.

 **blackRosesNthorns:** So I talked to Shaa today.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:**!?! And?

 **blackRosesNthorns:** We broke up.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** Just like that? How’d she take it?

 **blackRosesNthorns:** Surprisingly well. She’d been seeing her ex.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** WOW

 **blackRosesNthorns:** yeah.

 **blackRosesNthorns:** She’d been trying to think of how to break up with me

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** That’s...crazy to think about.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** But hey, at least that made it easier I guess.

 **blackRosesNthorns:** yeah

 **blackRosesNthorns:** So have you really not finished KH2?

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** Nope. You?

 **blackRosesNthorns:** yeah. It wasn’t bad.

 **blackRosesNthorns:** hey, you should come hang out at Denny’s sometime.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:**? Random

 **blackRosesNthorns:** it’s just, you never would come out when I invited you b4.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** well...I’m not rushing back to talk to Teedo anymore so...

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** yeah. Why not. I like Denny’s. I’d have to ask Maz first.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** She was cool with it. Eager about it actually …….

 **blackRosesNthorns:** you had to ask your mom for permission?

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** Technically she’s my adoptive mom, but yes.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** That’s how we work.

 **blackRosesNthorns:** Ah. ...I did not know that about you.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** yeah. Adopted me when I was 5. Don’t remember b4 that.

 **93zooropaLEMONS:** so, when do we do Denny’s?  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12+ years later I still have that cd. Listened to it today actually. My husband's taste in music has changed a bit since then but I still love the songs he put on there.


	10. The (non-date) Dinner Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey joins Ben and his buddies for a late dinner at Denny's and the conversation takes an interesting turn, much to Hux's enjoyment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter. I got a bad case of writers block. But hopefully you get some enjoyment out of chapter 10.

   Ben wasn’t sure how Hux and Mitaka were going to take him having inviting Rey. He still wasn’t really sure why he’d offered anyway. She’d said in the past hanging out in groups made her uncomfortable whenever he’d tried inviting her out to eat with the rest of the store’s crew. Yet when he warned her they’d be there she said she was okay with it. Ben knew Rey wasn’t a total fan of Hux, but she had briefly met Mitaka a year ago. Ben had apparently been talking about her without even realizing it and Mitaka had asked what she looked like. So, rather than describe Rey, he’d brought Mitaka on a “Soda Run” to the store. They seemed to get along well enough.

   Ben slammed the logger boot onto the display. He was overthink things again. It would be fine.  

 

   “Are you trying to damage store property?” Hux asked, qirking an eyebrow at the boot. 

   “What? Oh. ...No.”

   “Hm. ...Mitaka coming tonight?”

   “Yeah. He said he’d probably beat us there since he’d be coming from his grandma’s house.” 

   Hux let out a harsh laugh. “His grandma’s? Still?”

   “Hux, you still live with your dad and I still live with my mom. It’s not like we have room to talk.”

 

   Hux shrugged then turned his attention out towards the store. Ben felt the man nug his shoulder and watched as he nodded towards Mens. Finn was slowly walking down the aisle with a stupidly tall stack of boxes in his arms. The kid couldn’t see a damn thing and wasn’t far from walking right into a bench. Ben shifted so as to move to help him but Hux held his arm out, blocking him. 

 

   “I want to see what happens.”

   Anger flared in Ben. “He’s gonna make a mess and possibly get hurt and need Workmans Comp.” 

 

   The two men stared at one another for a second before a blur of motion caught their attention. Rose was running as quick as she could over to Finn, stopping him right before his foot hit the bench. The boxes wobbled in Finn’s arms and Rose stepped up on the bench to grab hold of the top few that were about to fall. 

   Hux turned to give Ben a smug look but Ben didn’t find none of it entertaining. Finn could have gotten hurt and it would have been on his watch. He pushed Hux’s arm out of the way.

 

   “What was the point of that Hux?”

   “To prove a theory.”

 

   Ben waited for him to continue as he slammed another boot down.

 

   “Rose has a thing for Finn, I think.” 

 

   Ben shook his head in disbelief. “So you were going to let Finn fall and make a fool of himself...all just to see if Rose has a crush?”

   Hux shrugged. “Well, at least if I’d been proven wrong it would have been funny.” 

   “I don’t find having to help clean boxes funny. It was a dick move.”

   Hux just laughed and grinned. “Coming from you, I’ll accept that as a complement.” 

 

   Ben just shook his head and returned his focus onto the boots in front of him. 

 

                                                                                                                    ~

 

   Ben held the door open as Hux entered the alarm code and stepped out past him, then pulled the door tightly and locked it. 

 

   “Um…”

 

   Ben yanked the key out of the lock and turned to find Rey sitting on the hood of her car, grinning at him. He swallowed and looked over at Hux, who was slowly turning to look back at him with a questioning look. 

 

   “Took you guys long enough. Ready? I’m starving!” Rey stated in a chipper tone as she hopped off the hood and turned to open her car door. 

 

   Ben quickly moved away from Hux and walked towards his own car, which Rey had parked next to yet again. 

 

   “Yeah. I have to follow him to the bank while he deposits the money, but then we can go. You can go on ahead if you want.”

   “Nah,” she said cheerfully. “I don’t mind following you.”

 

   Then she closed her car door and turned it on. Her stereo was loud enough for him to hear she was listening to the mix cd he’d made.

 

   “I’m going to call your phone and you’re going to explain to me what the hell I just witnessed,” Hux hissed behind his back. 

 

   Ben didn’t even bother looking back or answering. As soon as Hux had deposited the money, Ben’s phone rang. 

 

   “What do you want me to say Hux? I invited her to hang out at Denny’s and she actually accepted.”

   “And why would you do that?”

 

   Ben drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. 

 

   “We’re friends now...”

 

   The man’s laugh was actually loud enough Ben had to hold the phone away from his ear.

 

   “This evening just got much more interesting. I can’t wait to watch you make a fool of yourself, Solo.”

 

                                                                                                                           ~

 

   Rey couldn’t help feeling just a little nervous, but she was trying every trick she could think of to keep herself upbeat and confidant. She wasn’t thrilled to be eating with Hux but Ben had invited her out to eat so many times before she just couldn’t bring herself to turn him down once again. Besides, the way she saw it, this would give her a good idea how Ben acted on a more personal level. She’d gotten the gist that Mitaka was a nerdy soft-spoken pushover that Ben liked to both hang out with and hate on. Hux was opinionated and eager for mischief, and Ben seemed either annoyed and intrigued by him. So this was her chance to dig a little deeper into just who Ben Solo really was.   

 

   By the time she turned off her car, Rey was a jittery mess. She had hardly went on dates. And even though this wasn’t a “date”, this was still her by herself with a guy she liked. Usually she’d have at least one female friend as back up or some over seeing adult not far off. And to make it worse, she tended to get competitive when it was just her up against a group of boys. She always felt like she was having to prove something. 

 

_    You can do this Rey. This is what normal people your age actually do all the time. And it’s a Denny’s for Christ sake, not a bar or a stranger’s house. You’ll be fine.  _

 

   Forcing herself out of the car, Rey plastered a smile on her face and walked over to where Ben was waiting. Hux was already heading towards a beat up looking van parked near the door. It wasn’t cold by any means, but Rey was wrapping her leather jacket around her all the same. 

 

   “Are you seriously cold?” Ben asked. 

   “Oh, uh, not really. I just like wearing coats.” 

 

   It was the truth. Rey did like wearing coats. But even she was aware that she wore them as some physical form of phycological armor. But saying that would make her sound crazy, so she chose the more girly response.

 

   “Plus it goes with my outfit.”

 

   Ben glanced over to look her up and down then tried his best not to smile. 

 

   “Yeah, it does. You look good. I see you chose to go with those flame biker boots I sold you.”

 

   Rey grinned. “Yep.”

 

   Ben held the door open for her and let it close behind him. Hux completely forgotten. A young, tired looking waitress walked up to them. 

 

   “Is Aunt Z workin’ tonight?”

 

   The girl nodded and lead them over to a booth near the kitchen. Rey slid in and Ben did so opposite her. Rey was about to start up a conversation when Hux slid in next to Ben and Mitaka sat next to her. Rey scooted a little closer to the wall and was very quickly reminded that this was a group experience. 

 

   “Hi,” Mitaka said shyly.

   Rey gave him a friendly smile. “Hi.”

   “You two met?” Hux asked.

   “Uh, yeah, briefly,” Mitaka replied as he directed his attention to the menu sitting in front of Rey. 

 

   Rey watched as he took her menu and began looking over the offerings. Rey just blinked at him then turned to stared at her silverware and slowly slid it away from the man. She sat in silence for a moment, mentally wondering why she had agreed to this, when another menu slid in front of her. She looked up to see Ben pushing his menu toward her.

 

   “Take it,” he instructed, frowning. He glanced over at Mitaka with a look that could wilt a flower. “I’m not hungry anyways.”  

 

   Glancing between the two men for a moment then taking the menu and whispering a quite thanks, Rey raised it enough to cover her face. She didn’t have much money left in her bank account but if this was how the night was going to go then she sure as hell was going to get something good to eat out of the whole thing. 

`  
                                                                                                                            ~  
  


   “Evening boys, what are we having tonight?” a plump older woman with a big nose and bright rosy cheeks asked. 

   “Cheese fries and a Mountain Dew,” Mitaka answered happily. 

   “Plain fries and a water,” Hux threw in. 

   “Rey?”

 

   Rey looked up to see Ben looking at her and waving his hand from her towards the woman. 

 

   “Uh, I’ll have the nachos and a Diet Coke, please.”

 

   The woman smiled at her and nodded, then glanced over at Ben. 

 

   “And what are you having tonight, dearie?” 

   “Just a cup of coffee.”

 

   The woman, who Rey assumed was ‘Aunt Z’, raised an eyebrow in what she assumed was surprise but then walked off. Rey then gave Ben a shy smile. 

 

   “I feel a little silly being the only one that actually ordered a meal.”

   “Don’t be,” Ben replied. “If your hungry, eat.”

 

   Rey gave him a smile but her attention was then caught by Hux who leaned over towards her. 

 

   “Just be glad this one here,” he said, pointing toward Mitaka, “ordered his own food. Otherwise he would have been stealing from ours.”

   “Hey!” Mitaka said in an uncomfortable tone. “I don’t always do that.”

 

   Rey tried her best to hold back the laugh bubbling in her chest at the deadpan looks Ben and Hux gave the man. 

 

   “Well, I’ll tell you now,” she said to Mitaka in a playful tone, “I let you steal my menu but I would have fought you over my food.”

 

   The man blinked for a moment, in thought, then laughed and gave her an apologetic look. 

 

   “Oh man. I’m sorry. I didn’t even notice.” 

 

                                                                                                                          ~

 

   So far the night was turning out to be disappointingly normal, Hux thought. Mitaka rattled on about the newest signed Spiderman comic he’d spent a fortune on, which season of Buffy was his favorite, where he would get a Coheed and Cambria Keywork tattoo at if he wasn’t such a chicken,  and the current topic - whether Gwen Stacy or Mary Jane was better. Hux barely gave two shits, but he didn’t really have anything better to be doing. He was surprised by how quite Ben had been for most of the meal, adding his two cents here and there but avoiding any actual arguments he typically started. It had to be due to Rey who, poor girl, Hux couldn’t tell was either bored or disappointed with her food. 

   She had tried to join in on the very one sided conversation but seemed to give up at some point. She’d found the amount Mitaka had spent on his comic a clear waste of money, had never watched Buffy, and had never heard of Coheed and Cambria. 

 

   “Okay, well who do you think is better, Rey?” Mitaka asked.

 

   Rey’s eyes widened a little as she chewed a tortilla chip. 

 

   “Well… I’m not really sure. I know who Mary Jane is. I mean I watched the cartoon that would come on in the mornings, but I don’t recall a Gwen Stacy.”

 

   Mitaka opened his mouth to explain but Ben quickly cut in. 

 

   “That was your answer, Mitaka. Mary Jane.”

    “Sorry,” Rey apologized. “I’m aware of the whole Marvel vs DC thing, but I’ve never been a comic person. I enjoyed the X-Men movies but the only superhero I ever really cared for was Batman.”

 

   Without saying a word Hux held out his hand to her, awaiting a high five. Reluctantly she reached over and slapped his palm. Ben sat up straight and seemed to come back to life. 

 

   “Oh yeah?” he asked.

 

   Rey smiled. “Yeah. Maz liked the old Adam West one and I always thought it was fun too. But it was when she let me watch Tim Burton’s Batman, that’s when I fell in love with the character. I’ve never actually read the comics, but I adored the animated series-”

   “YES!” all three of them said in unison praise.

 

   Rey laughed, and Hux noticed Ben’s posture relax and open up instantly. 

 

   “Have you seen the new Nolan film?” Ben asked.

   “Oh yeah! I asked Teeto to take me but he thought it looked lame.” She rolled her eyes. “So I went with Maz. We loved it. It honestly was the best Batman film to date, but Batman Returns will always have a special place in my heart. Catwoman is my favorite character.”

 

   Ben hummed in approval. Hux mentally awarded her one point of approval. 

 

   “Yeah, she was pretty hot in that suit,” Mitaka commented like the pervy dork he was. 

   Surprisingly, Rey laughed good-naturedly at this and nodded. “I dressed up as her for two years in a row for Halloween. Granted, that was while I was in elementary school, but I wouldn’t mind actually wearing her catsuit now.” 

   “That would be hot!” Mitaka commented with a mouth full of fries. 

 

   Hux quickly glanced over at Ben. He was completely still but looked away from Rey long enough to shoot Mitaka a warning glare that the guy wasn’t even aware of. 

 

   “Though I’d probably go as Selene from Underworld now,” Rey threw in. “I already have the molded fangs, corset, and boots. Just need the contact lenses, the body suit, and the trench coat.”

 

   Hux found it interesting how Rey not even once looked away from Ben as she said this. And when he looked over at Ben, the man was stiffly gulping down his coffee. Hux grinned. 

 

   “So, you like to cosplay, Rey?” he asked. He was hoping to see how Ben might further react.

   She shrugged. “I’ve never went that far. Just dressing up for Halloween when I was younger.” Then she moved her eyes back onto Ben and seemed to hold her breath for a moment. “Except for that one time when I wore cat ears and a cat tail during sex,” she said nonchalantly.

 

   Hux was angled so as to face both Rey and Ben, and he thanked whatever higher power there was because seeing her face as she deliberately baited Ben and his responding choke on his sip of coffee was priceless. Rey was clearly pleased with herself after getting that reaction. 

 

   “I also tried these black and purple fairy wings and a spiked collar but after a few minutes I just took them off.”

 

   Ben was trying his best to clear his throat while dealing with his growing erection subtly, shifting from side to side as though the bench was suddenly the most uncomfortable thing he’d ever sat on. Hux covered his mouth to hide his grin. Rey was sitting back now watching Ben, clearly enjoying his awkward discomfort.

 

   “You, uh,” Ben cleared his throat once more. “You still own this stuff?”

 

   Hux was surprised Ben had even asked that question. He watched as Rey tried to suppress a smile and stirred her straw around in her drink before placing it into her mouth and rolled it around on her tongue. 

_    Dear God _ , Hux thought to himself. 

   He looked over at Mitaka and found the man sipping on his drink and hanging off every word Rey said. Hux rolled his eyes. 

 

   “No, sadly. Teeto wasn’t into it so I ended up just throwing it all out. ...But I wouldn’t have minded having a little collar with a bell on it or maybe a small letter R or something. I think that would have been cute. To hear that little bell jingle, you know?”

 

   Hux had no clue if she was saying this now because she actually meant it or if she was still trying to push Ben’s buttons. But he knew one thing; while he had no interest in Rey it was very obvious Ben did, and if he were in Ben’s place he would be in line at the nearest pet store buying a goddamn cat collar first thing in the morning. 

  
  


   Aunt Z appeared, coffee pot in hand. “More coffee?”

 

   Ben hadn’t seemed to hear her so Hux kicked him from under the table.   

 

   “What? Oh, no. I’m done,” he fumbled. 

   “I’ll take my check,” Rey asked.

   “Yeah. Uh, me too,” Ben said, sounding a little dazed. 

   “Mine too,” Hux added.

 

   As Aunt Z left Rey swore softly. She was looking at her phone then held it up to her ear. 

 

   “I didn’t realize how late it was. Maz does not sound to happy.”

 

   Hux had no idea who ‘Maz’ was. 

 

   “It’s only ten forty-five,” Ben stated. 

   “Yeah, I know. But I guess she wasn’t expecting me to stay out so late. I really should go though.”

   Ben seemed to deflate. “Yeah. ...Okay.”

 

                                                                                                                         ~

 

   Rey’s phone was buzzing again as she walked back outside and toward her car but she ignored it. She’d call Maz back and make up some apology on the drive. She wished Mitaka and Hux and good night and walked next to Ben to where they’d parked. Once she was next to her car though she didn’t want to leave. He looked so cute with his dark hair falling into his face and over his glasses.

   The night had mostly been a bore, but she was quite pleased with how their ending conversation had gone. She loved watching him get flustered over his thoughts of her. But what she really wanted to know was what would happen next. Would he kiss her? Should she try and kiss him? Was he going to invite her to hang out again or had she scared him off with too much info? So she chose to just stand there and kick the heel of her boot back against her car tire. 

 

   “Well,” Ben finally said after just standing there staring. “Thanks for coming out.”

   “Thanks for inviting me.” 

   “Sorry about Mitaka.”

   Rey shrugged. “It’s okay.”

   “Well...have a good night.”

   Rey tried not to let her disappointment show, but she knew it was for the best. “Thanks. You too. Don’t stay up to late.”

   “Nah,” Ben laughed. “I’m heading home.”

   Rey nodded. “Well...good night.”

   “Night.”

 

   Rey watched as he turned away from her and headed over to his car. Rey nodded to herself and got into her own vehicle. She reached for her phone and saw another voicemail from Maz. Rey groaned, formulated her excuse, and once on the road dialed Maz back. 


	11. The Sound A Zebra Makes

   Ben hadn’t drastically changed, but Rey felt his hard outer shell had cracked a little after their interesting meal at Denny’s. He still picked on her and was sarcastic when they talked but he was also more laid back and even cracked an actual smile on occasion. 

   The best though was when the Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” had come over the radio and Rey had decided to strut-walk her way, Travolta style, to where Ben was working in Boots. He’d seen her coming, and without breaking a beat, began to dance the Point. Rey had tried to keep a straight face but couldn’t hold it upon seeing him disco dance. 

 

   “Wow, Solo, I didn’t know you had it in you! Who knew you could dance!”

 

   He gave her a sheepish grin then tilted on the heel of his boots while he adjusted his glasses.

 

   “I can’t, actually. That’s about as good as it gets.” 

 

   Rey bit her lip to keep from grinning like a fool. 

 

   “Well you should dance more often. ...I loved it! 

 

   Ben gave a crooked smile and nodded, then began to do the Hand Wave as he walked backwards toward the cart he’d been working on. 

 

                                                                                    ~

 

   Their AIM chats had become casually random as well. 

 

_    blackRosesNthorns has signed on _

 

**93zooropaLEMONS:** Meow

**blackRosesNthorns:** ….I’m guessing you're a cat person?

**93zooropaLEMONS:** I like cats and dogs equally. 

**blackRosesNthorns:** ah. I’m more a dog person. I actually have one.

**blackRosesNthorns:** Well, he’s my mom’s. But she got him for me.

**93zooropaLEMONS:** Really! Aw, that’s sweet. What’s his/her name?

**blackRosesNthorns:** His name is Chewy

**93zooropaLEMONS:** cute. What breed?

**blackRosesNthorns:** just some terrier mutt we got at the pound a little after my dad died. 

 

   Rey paused before typing further. She knew Ben didn’t like to talk about his dad. After sitting there a few moments she decided to change the subject.

 

**93zooropaLEMONS:** So, how did closing go?

**blackRosesNthorns:** Fine. Hera stayed tonight.

**93zooropaLEMONS:** I like her

**blackRosesNthorns:** Yeah, she’s cool. 

 

   The conversation seemed to die off for several minutes, neither of them saying anything.

 

**93zooropaLEMONS:** so...any plans for tonight?

**blackRosesNthorns:** thought I might stay in and work on some artwork.

**93zooropaLEMONS:** oh cool. 

**blackRosesNthorns:** yeah. I’m working on a K.O.R tattoo sleeve idea

**blackRosesNthorns:** kinda hard to do when drawing on your own arm.

**93zooropaLEMONS:** wow. Well I’ll leave you to it then. Can’t wait to see it.

**blackRosesNthorns:** ok. night Rey

**93zooropaLEMONS:** night Ben

 

   Rey wasn’t done talking but she was interested to see his design, so she turned off her laptop so as not to be tempted to interrupt him. Instead she dug her Knights of Ren tank top out of her drawer and some baggy sleep shorts and snuggled under her comforter. Falling asleep wasn’t easy when all she could think of was him sitting across from her, drinking coffee with fresh black ink spiraling up and down his arms. It was an image she definitely liked though. 

 

                                                                          ~

 

   “So,” Rey said as she caught sight of Ben the moment she came to clock in. “Let me see the tattoo!”

   Ben frowned. “I scrubbed most of it off. It wasn’t turning out like I wanted.” He scratched at his left arm. “I did take some pictures though.”

 

   Rey didn’t hide her disappointment. After thoughts of Ben’s tattooed flesh ran rampant through her mind a picture seemed hardly adequate.

 

   “Well, can I see them?”

   “Sure,” he nodded, continuing to scratch his arm.

 

   He lead her to the break room and fished in his locker for his phone. 

 

   “Were you allergic to the marker or something?”

 

   Ben looked up to see her nod at his now reddened left arm. 

 

   “Oh, no. I just really had to scrub it to get the pen ink off. ...I actually ended up shaving off this section of arm hair.” 

 

   Rey opened her mouth to question that statement but was handed his phone. She looked at the pictures. Sure enough his arm was mostly colored in black ink, with twisting vines covered in thorns and black shiny roses. 

 

   “It’s beautiful,” she said as she handed him back his phone. “But, hold on, you’re telling me that you stayed up for what was probably hours-”

   “Four hours.”

   “Four freaking hours to draw this...just to get mad and wash it off? Then decided to shave your arm hair?”

   “...Yes.”

 

   Rey just stood and blinked at him. She was seriously questioning why she even liked this weirdo. 

 

   “...Do you typically shave random body parts?”

   “No.”

   “No? Never felt compelled to see what shaved legs felt like?” 

   “No,” he scoffed, taking his phone back from her and tossing it back into his locker without a care. 

 

   He walked past her and out onto the floor but Rey followed right after him. 

 

   “So was it just some weird Napoleon Dynamite moment? It was too hot so Pedro shaved his head type of deal?”

   “I hate that movie.”

   “How can you hate Napoleon Dynamite?”

 

   But Ben didn’t answer. Instead he walked right up to Hera and asked if she had any tasks Rey could help with. Hera nodded and suggested she help her straighten the racks of scrubs and place them back into size order. Rey smiled at Hera but turned to glare at Ben as he turned to walk away. He gave her a quick cocky look then strode back the way he’d come. 

 

                                                                            ~

 

   Rey blew on her mac-n-cheese to cool it down so she didn’t burn her tongue again. Kaz walked in to the brake room with a cheerful pep in his step that caused his attempt at a mohawk to sway. 

 

   “You’re in a good mood,” Rey commented. 

   “Oh man, I’m so stoked! Poe is down at the Auto Show today and he’s got one of his old muscle cars on display. He said I was welcome to come sit and ride with him before the judging!”

   “Wow.”

 

   Rey had no idea Poe was into cars. Nor did she know Kaz was also. She wondered if Finn was. Rey thought about it but got the feeling he wasn’t. 

 

   “Well, have a nice time,” she told him.

   “Thanks! See ya, Rey.” 

 

   Then he was gone. Rey took a bite of her food and was cooling down the next bite when Hux and Ben burst into the room laughing.

 

   “Oh man. Granted, I’ve never seen a Zebra,” said Ben, “But I can see it.”

 

   Hux’s pale face was splotched red from laughter. 

 

   “Well that pitiful excuse for a mohawk certainly doesn’t help. And who wears a black and white striped shirt anyway? Do you want to look like you just escaped jail?”

 

   Rey slowed her chewing and frowned. Hux then walked into the office and Ben began to rummage through the freezer. He spent the whole six minutes not even looking over at her. When he finally sat across from her he looked up to see her disapproving face. 

 

   “What?” he asked. 

   “I hope Kaz didn’t hear you two idiots making fun of him.”

   “What? Hux was right. He looked like a fucking Zebra walking out of here.”

   Rey crossed her arms. “And yet you said so yourself, you’ve never even seen a Zebra.”

 

   Ben frowned at her as he stabbed his fork into his food. 

 

   “So?”

   “So. Why pick on him if you don’t even know what they look like?”

   “I know what a Zebra looks like.”

   “What do they look like?”

 

   Ben glared at her for a moment then looked down and chewed the bite he had taken. 

 

   “Like a black and white striped horse.”

 

   They sat in silence.

 

   “But what do they sound like?” Rey asked, unsure as to why that question had even flew out of her mouth. 

   “What?” Ben asked. That caused him to look at her. 

 

   Without further explanation Rey just raised her eyebrow at him expectantly. 

 

   “How the hell should I know? Like any other horse, I guess,” he said with a shrug.

   “Wrong! They make a yit-yit sound that’s a little like a hyena’s.”

 

   Ben stared at her a moment then let out a humored laugh.

 

   “A what? A Yit Yit sound? Please, by all means, since you seem to know, demonstrate this sound for me.”

 

   As he leaned back in his chair looking smuggly expectant, Rey could feel her cheeks warming with embarrassment. She shifted in her chair till she sat straight and tried to remember that one time Maz had taken her to the zoo and she’d seen the male Zebras chasing and nipping one another. She’d never seen a hyena though. But she’d seen The Lion King enough times to remember what they sounded like.

 

   “Yit-yit! Yit-yit!”

 

   Ben looked at her for a drawn out second then bust out laughing. 

 

   “Oh my God, Rey. That...that was adorable. Do it again.”

 

   Rey blushed even harder.

 

   “No! It's not exactly how they sound. ...But it’s close enough!”

   “Uh huh.”

   “Well...you should visit the local zoo then and see for yourself.”

 

   Ben picked at his food but continued to smile at her in his shy like manner.

 

   “Maybe I will. ...And maybe you could point them out to me, since I don’t know what Zebras looks like.”

 

   Rey rolled her eyes as she huffed, but her brain had already processed his wording. He’d implied they go together. That...was silly. She looked up at the clock and stood to throw away her trash. 

 

   “I best head back onto the floor. Before you find me some other type of mind numbing work to do.”

 

   He didn’t comment. He just let her walk out. 

 

                                                                                 ~

 

**blackRosesNthorns:** What are you doing this weekend?

 

   Rey blinked in confusion.

 

**93zooropaLEMONS:** Nothing, as usual. Why?

**blackRosesNthorns:** We have the weekend off together.

**blackRosesNthorns:** I was thinking we could hang out Saturday.

 

   Rey reread that line three times then bit her lip as she typed.

 

**93zooropaLEMONS:** ...ok. And do what?

**blackRosesNthorns:** I was thinking we could go to the zoo.

 

   Rey actually laughed out loud, drawing Maz’s attention. 

 

   “Sorry. Ben just asked me if I wanted to hang out with him and go to the zoo.”

   Maz adjusted her glasses. “When?”

   “Saturday.”

   Maz sat quietly for a moment then nodded. “You should go.”

   Rey blinked. “What? You serious?”

   “I am. Go. It will be good for you.”

 

   Rey looked at her suspiciously then looked back down at her AIM screen.

 

**93zooropaLEMONS:** You know I meant that as a joke, right?

**blackRosesNthorns:** Yeah. But I still like the idea. 

**blackRosesNthorns:** And you could hang out at my place afterward. Play some video games. 

 

   Rey swallowed. Was it suddenly hot in the room? She felt like she was sweating. 

 

   “Then he wants me to hang out at his house afterward and play games,” Rey called out to Maz. 

 

   She expected the woman to change her mind or at the very least make a face, but all she did was give Rey a thumbs up. She didn’t even look away from the tv. Rey found that very suspicious.

 

**93zooropaLEMONS:** Maz says it’s okay.

**blackRosesNthorns:** Oh yeah. I forgot you have to have permission to be social.

**93zooropaLEMONS:** ha. ha. Actually she seems totally chill with the idea. It’s kind of creeping me out. 

**blackRosesNthorns:** So is this a yes to Saturday?

 

   Rey stared at the screen. She couldn’t believe she was going to do this. She held her breath and typed her reply.

 

**93zooropaLEMONS:** Sure. Should be fun!

**93zooropaLEMONS:** We should get there around 10 though. The animals tend to be less active or hide as the day gets hotter. 

**93zooropaLEMONS:** And if you plan on playing against me in Grand Turismo I have my own special steering wheel I use, since I hate using a controller for racing games.  

**blackRosesNthorns:** awesome. Mind driving? I can meet you halfway, but I have no clue where the zoo is.

**93zooropaLEMONS:** That’s fine. I don’t mind. Want to meet up at Miller’s Creek? Say, 9:30am?

**blackRosesNthorns:** Sounds like a plan.

 

   Rey let out a shaky breath. She could do this. 


	12. The (non-date) Date: Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey's date will take place in three parts. Hope you enjoy Part One (aka: The Graveyard scene) Also we get a quick view of things from Leia's perspective.

   Ben had no idea what to wear. What did one wear on a date to a zoo?

 

_    Christ, I haven’t been to a zoo since… I can’t even remember. Who the hell picks a zoo as a first date? _

 

   He hadn’t exactly used the word ‘date’ with Rey, but that was exactly what this was. Hux had picked on him mercilessly when Ben had told him. But that didn’t matter right now. Right now, finding something to wear was what mattered. 

   Ben just stood in front of his closet filled with black clothing. He frowned and looked into the far back. There sat one white dress shirt with frills. 

 

_    Nope. _

 

   He looked through his black shirts again. Venom? No. Batman? No. Why the hell was a wrestling shirt still in his closet? Ben yanked it off it’s hanger and tossed it into the floor. Venom? Again? No. KOR? No. KOR? No. 

   Ben growled and slammed his head onto the door. Then he glanced back at the frilly white shirt just hanging there and groaned in shame.

 

                                                                                      ~

 

   Leia sighed happily into her fifth cup of coffee and looked out the window at the early morning sunshine. It had been a while since she’d been able to sleep in. She looked over and grabbed her newest Danielle Steel novel and settled in to read something non-work related. 

   Before she could even finish the first sentence she heard Ben’s door slam and his heavy steps stomping down the stairs. 

 

   “Morning, son,” she said warmly. 

   “Are you off today?”

 

   His worried tone made her chuckle and look up at him.

 

   “I sure am!” She looked her giant of a son over and appraised his overall look. “Where in the world are you off to?” she asked.

 

   He stood straight but tugged at his hair nervously. 

 

   “I’m meeting Rey and going to the zoo with her.”

   Leia quirked an eyebrow at him. “Dressed like that?”

 

   Ben rolled his eyes and sighed as he walked out of the room. Leia could hear him rummaging through the bathroom cabinet. Leia rolled the name Rey around in her mind.

 

   “Rey. ...Is that the name of the girl you’ve been talking about? You two finally going on a date?”

   “It’s not really a date-date,” he answered. “I mean it is, but I haven’t asked her out yet, so it’s not technically…”

   Leia laughed. “No need to make it complicated, Ben. A date is a date. ...Although the zoo is an odd choice.”

   “It was her idea.”

 

   Leia said nothing but shook her head.

 

_    Whoever this Rey girl is must be something if she’s willing to put up with my son dressing like a clown and picks a zoo as a first date. _

 

   She could hear him walking into the kitchen now. 

 

   “Will you be home later?” he asked.

   Leia huffed but smiled. “I will. I plan to enjoy this rare day off by doing nothing for once. 

   There was a pause, then, “Okay, well I invited her to come over once we leave.”

   “That’s fine dear. Have a nice time.”

 

   Ben didn’t say a word. He just walked to the door then shut it behind him. Leia leaned off the couch so as to watch Ben pull out of the driveway and take off down the road. Then she bust out laughing and settled back into her book.  __

 

                                                                                  ~

 

   Rey clicked her fingernails against her teeth as she looked at the clothes in her closet. 

 

_    Nothing preppy looking. Will be too hot to wear black, though Ben will probably be dressed in it. A skirt? No, no, no. Just dress normal, Rey. This isn’t a date.  _

 

   “You meeting this boy or are you going to stand in your room looking at clothes all day?” Maz called out to her.

 

   Rey opened her door to find Maz standing on the other side. Maz looked her over and nodded before walking back towards the kitchen. Rey had dressed in a white tank top that had a small image of a sunset off to one side of her breast and thin tan capris. It made her feel cute, and that was what she was going for. 

 

   “Okay. So I don’t really know a time frame, Maz, but we’ll be at the zoo, then grab lunch and then we’ll head over to his mom’s house.”

   “Stop by on your way to his house,” Maz said. 

   Rey glanced at her for a moment. “Why?” she asked with suspicion. 

   “I want to meet him.”

   Rey gave her a pained look. “Maz, no. That will freak him out! He’ll probably take it as some weird ‘Meet my mom and marry me’ kind of thing and get scared off. I’m not having you ruin this.”

 

   Maz just gave her a blank look that was amplified by her large glasses. Rey stood her ground for a moment then sighed in defeat. 

 

   “Fine! I’ll think of some excuse. ...I was going to bring my racing wheel with me but I guess I can leave it here and make an excuse of needing to stop by and pick it up as a reason to get him in the door.”

 

   Maz gave her a satisfied smile and nodded.

 

   “Enjoy your date,” Maz called out as Rey headed for the door.

   “It’s not a date!” Rey protested. 

 

                                                                                     ~

 

   Ben fidgeted in his car. He was early but he also was willing to bet money Rey would be late. He looked over the church tower and the graveyard beyond it. He hadn’t been to Miller’s Creek graveside since he was thirteen. When Han had died. 

   Ben frowned and picked at the ruffled sleeves of his shirt. 

 

_    Glad your not around to see me dressed like this. You’d never let me live it down. _

 

   But as he thought about it the more he felt a growing sense of guilt over not having visited his father’s grave. Ben cursed and got out of his car. It wasn’t hot but he sure as hell wasn’t going to be seen wandering a graveyard wearing a frilly shirt. 

   He grabbed his leather duster out of the back seat and shrugged it on. The weight of real leather pressed on his frame and gave him some sense of comfort. He loved this duster. I was as if it carried the magical ability to shut out the world and keep everyone away. Then again that was probably because people took one look at him with it on and thought ‘School Shooter’. At least, that’s what he’d been told by a fellow student after he’d first bought it and worn it his senior year. He’d worn it from then on after that just to mess with people. And he’d learned to tune out the looks people gave him when he wore it.

 

   Lost in his thoughts, Ben hadn’t noticed his feet had pulled him into the graveyard. He stood and looked around for a moment. He tried digging up the memory of his father’s burial but all he could recall was a mix of childish joy and anger. Joy that Ben didn’t have to deal with his father anymore and anger than his father had left him and his mother all alone. Uncle Luke had come around to offer support but Leia was tough and had tried her best to be strong for both their sakes. Ben knew how much the loss hurt her though and so he tried his best to hide his indifference. 

 

   He was pulled from his thoughts only when he realized Rey was standing next to him, looking at him with a wary yet questioning expression. 

 

   “Hey,” she said softly. “Looking for someone?”

 

                                                                                     ~

 

   Rey was so jittery and caught up in her own thoughts of how the day might turn out that she didn’t notice the family of possums until it was too late. Crossing four lanes of traffic in the late morning sunlight was a mother and her four babies. 

   Rey squealed as she tried to break without losing control of the car. She hadn’t looked to see if anyone was around her so she chose to stay in her lane. The mother possum stopped and let her four children finish crossing into the grass before looking right at Rey’s car. Rey felt the physical bump under her tire and gasped. 

 

   “NO! Oh my God! I killed her! Oh shit!”

 

   She looked back into the rear mirror and spotted the animal’s lifeless body. Rey then fixed her gaze back onto the road and felt tears prick at her eyes. Those four baby possums were now motherless thanks to her. 

 

   “I can’t believe it,” she sniffed. “I feel like I just shot Bambi’s mom! ...I’m a terrible person.”

  
  


   When she pulled into Miller’s Creek Church parking lot she just sat for a moment in stunned self pity. 

 

_    Well that’s an awful start to the day. Maybe it’s a sign? No, don’t be stupid. You’ve accidentally ran over a rabbit and a frog. Why is this any different? ….It’s different because there is now motherless babies standing in the grass somewhere wondering why their mother didn’t cross the road. _

 

   Rey groaned at her thoughts and forced herself to get out of the car.

 

_    Well...at least it will give you a topic to talk about on the drive. _

 

   Rey walked up to Ben’s car but found it empty. She furrowed her brows and looked around. Off in the distance she spotted a tall figure in black standing between a row of grave markers. Rey snorted. 

 

   “Death. How fitting, that upon my slaughter of innocent life, I find you now, standing among the headstones,” she mused. 

 

   She walked up to him but lost the bounce in her step the closer she got. His shoulders were hunched over and his hair was obscuring most of his face. Yet he wasn’t positioned as if he were reading someone’s name. It literally looked like he just came here to sulk. 

 

_    To bad I don’t have a rain machine and a camera with a darkened lens. This would look amazing on the walls of the school’s art building. Totally gives off The Crow vibes. _

 

   “Hey,” she said quietly. “Looking for someone?”

 

   Ben glanced over at her through his hair then looked around. He’d forgone his glasses today but instead was sporting eyeliner. Rey pressed her lips together so as to not let a giggle escape her mouth. It was odd to see him wearing it, but Rey decided she didn’t hate it.  

 

   “Yeah,” he said, his voice a strange sound she’d never heard before. “My dad. He’s around here somewhere.”

   Rey waited a beat and looked around. “Oh. You don’t know where he is?”

   Ben paused. “I can’t remember. It was so long ago. I know he’s here but I don’t remember where.”

 

   Rey shifted her weight, unsure of what to do.

 

   “Well...I can help you look for him,” she offered. 

   Ben shook his head. “No, that’s okay. I’d rather not. It doesn’t matter anyway. I haven’t been here since I was thirteen so….why start now? Best not to hold onto the past.” 

 

   Rey shoved her hands into the tiny pockets her capris offered. That sounded so sad to her. To lose a loved one so young and know that they're here, almost within reach, to at least one-sidedly talk to. Had Ben’s dad really be so bad that he hadn’t even wanted to visit? Rey was tempted to wonder if her real parents were in some random graveyard, unknown to her, but she quickly shut down that train of thought. The pain wasn’t worth the empty answers she’d get.  

 

   “You look nice,” he said, turning to fully face her now.

   Rey gave him a sweet smile till she caught sight of his shirt. “Thanks. That’s...an interesting choice,” she said pointing to white ruffles poking through his coat. 

   He groaned and turned to head back towards the parking lot.

 

   “Well I figured you’d appreciate seeing me wear something other than black. This just happened to be the only thing I own in a different color.”

 

   Rey couldn’t help but laugh.

 

   “Well it’s nice to know you own a rainbow of colored shirts.”

   “It was for a pirate costume I wore one year, alright!”

   “No need to be offended. It’s an odd choice but I don’t mind. ...I’m just happy to...spend time with you.” 

 

   He turned to look at her. She did mean it, but she also saw an opportunity to pick at him for once and risked it.

 

   “I am! ...Even if you are dressed like a centuries confused vampire. Nice touch with the eyeliner by the way.” 

 

   She walked past him and left him to stand, nodding his head as he clearly plotted his verbal revenge.

 

   “Okay,” he said coolly as he quickly strode up next to her. “I see how it’s going to be. That’s fine. Just you wait till later.”

 

   Rey giggled at his stupid sounding threat. 

 

   “Why? What’s-”

   “Oh, I’m not telling you.”

   “What?”

   “Nope. You wanted to play this game Rey Kanata, so now you’ll get to play it on my terms.”

   “What does that mean?”

 

   The two of them slid into her car.

 

   “It means….you’ll find out.”

 

   Rey rolled her eyes and started the car. 

 

   “Okay. Whatever.”

 

   Ben shrugged but then settled into the passenger seat.

 

   “This is a really comfy seat.” 

 

 

   They sat in silence till they were coming upon the spot were the dead possum was. Or, at least where she was supposed to be. Her body was missing. 

 

   “That’s weird.”

   “What?”

   “So, I’m a terrible person, and accidentally ran over a mother possum as she was helping her babies cross the road on my way to see you. But now her dead body is missing. Think a vulture carried her off?”

 

   Rey looked over to see Ben shrug then shoot her a crooked toothed grin. 

 

   “Maybe. ...Or maybe her poor orphaned children came back to carry her across the road and morn the fact their mother died because someone couldn’t leave her house on time.”

 

   Rey looked over at him and gaped in disbelief. 

 

   “Oh my God! How could you say that! I felt awful when it happened! She even looked at me Ben before she died!”

 

   He bust out laughing at her and seemed to enjoy every second of her mordification. Rey suppressed a smile and looked back at the road. 

 

   “I can't believe you. ...You are such an ass,” she said playfully. “I honestly don’t know why I like you.” 

 

   He chuckled but seemed flattered somehow. 

 

   “I am. And I can’t figure out why you like me either. But, hey, I warned you. You wanted to start this insult war and I’m just playing along.”

 

   Rey shot him a glare but then smiled to herself.  


	13. The (non-date) Date: Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part two of three of our silly lovebirds trip to the zoo. Let the flirting continue!

   Ben learned a few things while riding with Rey. She had a habit of driving at least five miles over without seeming to notice. She took turns very tightly, as if she were the driver in a sports car commercial. She liked to brake suddenly and in the middle of a curve. And she did all this while still keeping up a conversation and messing with the stereo. Ben wasn’t sure what this said about her but it kept him on edge, especially since the road she took to get there was filled with ups and downs and twists. 

  
  


   Rey pulled up to a front row parking spot and cut the engine. There were only a handful of other vehicles already parked, so Ben was glad he wouldn’t be stuck in a crowd. They got out, Rey leading the way, and headed to the ticket window. Ben looked around at the stuffed animal displays and the photo of a baby tiger but quickly turned to find Rey already handing over cash. 

 

_    Damn it. _

 

   “Rey, you didn’t need to do that. I had planned on paying.”

 

   Rey rolled her eyes at him and handed over his ticket.

 

   “That’s sweet of you...but I don’t mind. Really. You’re here to be educated, remember?” She flashed him a playful grin. “Besides, if it truly bothers you, you can pay for lunch. We passed a Burger King on the way here and I’m going to be starving by the time we leave.” 

 

   She turned to start up the path but stopped short and waited as a male peacock slowly took his time to cross in front of them. Rey looked back, smiling, then continued onward. 

  
  


   They’d past a few moms with toddlers but other than that they pretty much had the place to themselves. Rey’s recommendation on coming out early so the animals would be out turned out to be true.  Ben couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of two bear cubs running and splashing into a kiddie swimming pool, and found it humorous that Rey wanted nothing to do with the goats.

 

   “You’re really not going to come pet them?” Ben asked as he petted a baby goat that nibbled at his fingers. 

 

   Rey stood a good two feet away and shook her head.

 

   “I don’t trust them. And their eyes creep me out.” 

 

   Ben wasn’t all that surprised that Rey found the three tigers chewing on their rope toys entertaining. But she was even more intrigued by the fact that the snow leopard seemed very keen to slowly follow him around the enclosure. He found it a bit unsettling, the way the animal looked at him.

 

   “She likes you,” Rey said, watching the large cat stalk him.

 

   He looked over at her with a look of skepticism.

 

   “I don’t think ‘like’ is the right word. More like ‘wants to eat’.”

 

   She tilted her head to one side, observing the animal one last time, and shrugged.

 

   “True. ...She has good taste.”

 

   And at that she turned and continued on. Ben huffed a small laugh to himself and hurried after the minx leading him around. 

  
  
  


   Past the primates and colorful displays of various birds the path then forked. Rey turned left but after looking at the sign, Ben stopped in his tracks. 

 

   “Umm, no. You can go on ahead if you want. I’ll stay here and wait for you.”

 

   Rey stopped and looked around in confusion. 

 

   “What’s wrong?”

 

   Ben pointed to the building ahead of them with the word ‘Reptiles’ along the side.

 

   “I hate snakes.”

 

   Rey let out a small laugh and walked back toward him.

 

   “You serious? You are aware they are behind glass, right?”

   “I’m aware. But I still hate them.”

   “Well they have other things in there that aren’t snakes.”

   “Don’t care.”

   “You’re really not going in?”

   “Nope.”

 

   Rey studied him for a moment then raised her eyebrows and placed her hands on her hips. Ben couldn’t help but glance down at the movement and wonder how much of her slim waist his large hands could cover. Or how it would feel to slide his hands down over her perfectly rounded ass.

 

   “Any other animals you’re scared of?”

 

   Ben looked back up to her face and blinked.

 

   “What?”

   “Any other animals you’re scared of?

 

   Ben stood there silently for a moment, trying to remember what it was they’d been talking about. 

 

_    Oh. Snakes. _

 

   “I’m not scared of them. I just don’t like them.”

   “Were you bitten by one once?”

   “No.”

 

   Rey shook her head and waved him to follow her down the path towards the right. 

 

   “Come on ya big baby. Zebra’s are this way.” 

 

   She got two steps from him before he reached out and pulled her back against him then picked her up off her feet. She squealed as he spun her around and set her back down to face the path back towards the birds.

 

_    God, she’s like holding on to a bird! I could crush her without even trying.  _

 

   “BEN!” she squealed. “What the?”

 

   He picked her up again and took a step forward. 

 

   “What are you doing?” she laughed. 

   “Taking you back to the goats,” he said with a grin.

   “What! No!”

 

   He took a few more steps forward and ignored her struggle to break his grip. He was enjoying this to much. 

 

   “Come on you big baby. If you can pet a goat I can look at a snake.”

   “Ben, seriously, you win! You win!”

   “Nope.”

   “I take it back! You’re not a baby!”

 

   Ben probably would have carried her all the way back but one lady had already shot them a passing glare due to their antics. And while he didn’t care about getting kicked out, Rey probably would. It also didn’t help that her thrashing was causing her ass to grind up against his crotch. If he was going to still walk around comfortably and without a visible erection he really needed to stop. Now. 

   He whispered a hush in her ear then placed her back on her feet and let her go. Rey spun around and took a step away from him. She rubbed at where he’d held her sides and tried to catch her breath between huffs of laughter. 

 

   “For a guy that likes to pick on people you really hate to be teased, don’t you?”

 

   The look she gave as she walked around him and back towards the path that would take them to the Savanna section could have qualified as a tease in and of itself. Ben threw his head back and bit his tongue as he looked at the sky. 

 

_    Get it together, Solo. She’s doing this on purpose. _

 

   “Coming?”

 

   At Rey’s word choice he clenched his eyes closed and groaned, then straightened and followed behind her. 

 

   “With you? Yes please.”

 

   Rey gave him a funny look but kept going.

 

_    How the hell can she be this flirty and not catch that? And why the hell did you have to be home today, mom? ...I really need to move out. _

  
  
  


   Rey shared little random facts about each animal they came across. She apparently had spent a portion of her childhood wanting to photograph wildlife in Africa for National Geographic. 

 

   “So what stopped you?” he asked.

 

   She laughed as she came to a stop in front of the zebras and looked at him.

 

   “I read an article from one of their photographers about how he’d been tasked with going into the Amazon to get some photos of this wild boar that no one had ever captured on film. The guy was there for a month, spending hours in the rain, sleeping on the ground and getting bitten by ants, getting sick from the water and eventually being infected with worms. And that he’d spend weeks just sitting on this little wooden seat high off the ground. Finally, near the end of the trip he saw one boar and tried to get what few pictures of it he could. Once he got back to America and developed the film, he’d only gotten one clear shot of the boar. And it was of it’s backside as it ran back into the trees.”

   “Damn. That sucks.”

   “Yeah. I thought long and hard about that and decided I wasn’t that dedicated.”

 

   They stood there for a few seconds just staring a the zebras. It was definitely hot now and most of them were just standing or lying underneath the trees or sheds that were scattered around. Ben couldn’t blame them. He was melting in his duster. 

 

   “Well...I still think Kaz looked like one.”

 

   Rey smacked him in the arm. They stood there a few seconds longer.

 

   “Why don’t you make your Yit-Yit noise and see what they do.”

 

   Instead, Rey squinted a look up into the sky then wiped at the back of her neck. 

 

   “I have a better idea. Let’s go and grab lunch. It’s hot and I’m hungry.”

  
  



	14. The (non-date) Date: Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben meets Maz. Maz shares with Rey a prediction. It is not at all what Rey expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This date was just only going to be in three parts, but after writing it I decided to split this third part and make it now into four. So, yeah.

   Rey had had a blast at the zoo. But now she was sitting here swirling her fries in ketchup while mentally running through the different scenarios she could use to get Ben to come into her house. She was hoping to take their sweet time eating but Ben had practically inhaled his food, saying that his father had spent some time in the military and had insisted that he also eat just as quickly. And Ben apparently had never unlearned the habit. So now Rey felt rushed to come up with something. 

 

_    Honestly Maz, is this really necessary? God, I hope this works. ...Here it goes. _

 

   “Oh shit.”

   Ben looked up in concern. “What’s wrong?”

   “I forgot my racing wheel.”

   He shrugged. “That’s okay. You can just use the second controller.”

   Rey shook her head. “No. I hate racing with a controller. I’d really rather have it.”

   “Okay. Well we don’t have to play a racing game.”

   “No,” Rey blurted. “I want to play! I...have to prove that I can beat you. I just need to make sure it will be a fair fight. ...If I just use a controller then it won’t be fair because I’d suck at it.”

 

   That caused Ben a humored chuckle.

 

   “Alright then.”

   Rey sighed. “Cool. It’ll just be a quick run in and out. I promise.”

 

   Rey’s stomach was in knots. She couldn’t bring herself to eat anymore.

 

   “I’m done,” she said, pushing away the fries.

   “You don’t need to rush on my account,” Ben said politely. 

   Rey shook her head. “No, I’m just getting full. Shall we?”

 

   They stood, gathered their trash, and headed back towards the car.

 

                                                                                 ~

 

   Ben had no idea why a steering wheel was so important to Rey, but it was really making her anxious all of a sudden. The drive to her house was relatively quick but Rey didn’t even bother to make small talk, so instead he looked at the variety of homes that filled Rey’s neighborhood. It was clear the area was a mix of poor and middle class. Rey’s home ended up being on a street of Nineties style Ranch homes. Her’s was an average looking one with small shrubs surrounding the house.

   Rey turned off the car and sat for a beat before looking over at him with wide eyes.

 

   “Mind coming in with me?” she asked in her high pitched tone she used when she wanted something. 

 

   Ben froze. 

 

_    Why? That wasn’t part of the plan. _

 

   “I thought this was an in and out thing?” he asked carefully.

   “It is. ...It’s just...it’s in two pieces and I could use help carrying it.”

 

   She looked as though she was going to beg him. Ben couldn’t help but frown.

 

   “I’d really rather-”

   “Please? ...It will just take a second and Maz wants to meet you and-”

   “Hang on. You’re mom wants to meet me?”

   “I’m sorry! I know. She’s just...weird like that. I told her no, that it would freak you out, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer and I had to use this stupid wheel as an excuse. But I really do want the wheel and-”

   “Okay! Okay. ...Stop.”

 

   Rey paused, looking terrified. Ben couldn’t help but huff in frustration. He really did not feel like meeting Maz. She’d judge him the moment she saw him. Everybody did. She’d probably think he was some Satan worshiping killer, out to corrupt her daughter. Ben glanced over at her then shook his head and popped open the car door. 

 

   “Come on. Let’s just get this over with.”

 

   Rey scrambled out of her car and rushed over to him and lead him up the steps. Ben couldn’t help but feel on edge by her anxiousness. Was she scared of what Maz would think? Was Rey ashamed to be with him? Ben could feel his carefree mood from earlier quickly fading away. 

 

   Rey opened the door and quietly let him in. Ben stepped aside to let her close it but stood firmly in place and glared at the dining room that was directly across from them.

 

   “I’ll be right back,” Rey whispered. “...Mom? We’re heading over to Ben’s now. I’m just grabbing the wheel.” And with that she disappeared down a hall. 

 

   A small older woman with large glasses stepped into his view. She looked at him a moment then gave him a pleasant enough smile and walked over to the dining table. 

 

   “You’re Ben?” she asked.

 

   Ben couldn’t place her accent but found himself giving a small nod.

 

   “Yes ma’am.”

   “Did you both have a nice time?”

   “...We did.”

 

   The woman looked him over for what Ben felt like was an eternity then nodded and looked down at the magazine she had grabbed. 

 

   “Okay! I have everything!” Rey announced as she quickly walked up towards him. 

 

   Ben grabbed the door handle and opened it for Rey. He couldn’t wait to leave. This had been so nerve wracking. 

 

   “Rey?” Maz called. 

 

   Rey stood still, her arms full, and slowly turned around to look at her mother. 

 

   “A moment, before you go.”

 

   Ben looked down to see Rey quickly look up at him, then slowly hand over a steering wheel, a foot pedal and a knot of cords. Ben took them and quickly headed towards the porch stairs. 

 

   “Nice to meet you, Ben,” Maz called out. 

   Ben turned. “Nice to meet you too, Ms. Kanata.” And he bolted down the steps. 

 

                                                                         ~

 

   Rey mentally groaned and closed the door then walked towards the dining room. Maz looked up at her and gave her a warm smile Rey wasn’t sure how to interpret. 

 

   “I can see why you like him.”

   Rey blinked. “You can?”

 

   At this Maz actually laughed. 

 

   “I like him. ...I can see the two of you married.”

 

   Rey couldn’t help the floored look that came over her face.

 

   “What the heck Maz! Married? You just met him! For like...two seconds! How the hell can you even guess that?”

   Maz shrugged. “Or, at least for a few years. But he’s the one. I’ve just got that feeling.”

 

   Rey shook her head. She couldn’t believe this.

 

   “Maz,...you’re crazy. And I say that with love.”

 

   Maz laughed at her and winked. 

 

   “Watch. You wait and see.”

 

   Rey shook her head again but this time turned and headed for the door. She’d heard enough craziness. 

 

   “Have fun. Don’t come home too late. ...And be safe please!”

 

   Rey ignored that last comment. And waved goodbye before shutting the door.

 

_    Christ! Really? What does she think is gonna happen? And she’s the one who had me go on birth control.  _

 

   Rey stomped down the stairs and could see Ben already in the car with a frown on his face. Rey bit her lip.

 

_    Marry him. I cannot believe that was her first thought. ….Then again….her intuition always does seem to prove right. _

 

   Rey got into her car and looked over at Ben as she turned her key. She looked over his furrowed brow, his long nose and plush lips, and the little moles that dotted his long face. Ben then looked over at her with stormy brown eyes. Rey swallowed.

 

_    Shit. Maz is gonna end up being right again, isn’t she.  _

 

   They looked at one another before Ben looked back out the window. 

 

   “She hates me. Doesn’t she.”

 

   He had said this with heartbreak in his voice. And yet Rey couldn’t help the high pitched laugh that bubbled out of her before she slammed her lips shut. He looked over at her with a guarded look. Rey gave him a sympathetic smile and shook her head before looking at the road and laughing again. 

 

   “No. Actually, it’s quite the opposite.”

 

   Rey didn’t bother to look over at him. She could feel the small blush warming her cheeks and didn’t want him to notice. 

 

   “So...I didn’t freak her out?” he asked carefully.

   “Nope.”

   “Not at all?” 

   “Nope.”

   “What did she say then?”

 

   Rey shook her head and laughed again, but still kept her eyes on the road. 

 

   “Uh...well, she likes you. A lot...apparently.”

   “She likes me?”

   “Yep.”

   “I don’t see how ...There’s something you’re not telling me.” 

   “There is. But I’m not telling you. Maz has a habit of saying odd things sometimes and it was one of those. I’m still a little thrown off by it myself.”

   “....That doesn’t make me feel better.”

   “Trust me. You’d freak out more if I told you. Just know that she wasn’t put off by you or found you weird. She thought you were sweet.”

 

   Ben sat silent for several minutes before letting out a small ‘huh’ slip from his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the whole, my mom met by coworker crush for a split second then tells me I'm gonna marry him, totally happened to me for real. I did not make that part up.


	15. The (non-date) Date: Part Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey spends some time in the Solo house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while to post. But this is a long chapter, so hopefully that makes up for the wait. Hope you enjoy!

   Ben spent his whole drive back home, with Rey following in her car, pondering what it was Maz had said. He had no clue what to make of what Rey had said or how she’d acted. She’d seemed embarrassed. But apparently it was funny, whatever it was. He finally decided to just let it go. He’d been able to get in and out with very little conversation and hadn’t been instantly thought of as a horrible person. He could live with that. Now however he had to get past the next hurdle. His own mother. 

 

   Ben pulled into the spot of the driveway he considered his and cut the engine as he stepped out. Rey pulled up next to him, windows down and music blaring. She got out and looked out over their yard and appraised what she could see of the house. 

 

   “Ben, this is beautiful! It’s like your own little slice of the Shire here!”

 

   He couldn’t help but smile at her nerdy complement. The woods behind the house and the view of soft hills and distant mountains in front was nice. Ben watched as Rey tilted her face towards the sun with closed eyes and inhaled deeply. He couldn’t remember the last time he stopped and actually appreciated where he lived. 

   But the onset of barking pulled his attention away and toward the garage. He opened the door and out bolted Chewie, making a wide U-turn to head back toward him. The shaggy brown haired terrier let out a string of crisp barks as he wagged his tail happily. Ben leaned down and rubbed the dog’s head affectionately. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rey crouch down but stay put. He looked over at her and found her smiling at the dog. 

 

   “It’s okay. He’s a little shy, but he’s friendly.”

   “I believe you. But I don’t want to make a bad impression. Best to let the dog come to you. Being loud and in your face can freak some dogs out.”

 

   Ben stood and walked over to stand next to Rey. Chewie followed and slowed his pace as he came upon Rey. Ben watched as she calmly extended her hand, palm down, out a little but stayed otherwise still. Chewie sniffed from a distance then took a few steps closer so that his nose almost touched her fingers.

 

   “Hi Chewie,” Rey whispered. 

 

   The dog slowly began to wag his tail. Rey then slowly pulled her hand away and Chewie stepped closer, his tail wagging faster now. Rey laughed and openly petted the dog. 

 

   “I like him,” she said, looking up at him now with a grin. 

 

   She rolled on her heel and slowly stood, giving Chewie the space to step back.

 

   “Not bad,” Ben said. “That’s the best he’s ever greeted anyone.”

   “Yeah? What do you mean?”

   “Well, the first time mom ever spoke to him he froze on the spot and peed on the floor. Anytime I tried to touch him for the first month he just hid under a bed. And he growled at Mitaka.”

   Rey stuck out her lower lip in a pout. “Poor dog.”

   Ben couldn’t help but laugh. “I told mom to take him back to the pound after the first week, but she wouldn’t. I guess it worked out in the end.”

 

   They watched as the dog relieved himself on one of Leia’s plants then happily trotted back into the garage. 

 

   “Well I’m glad she didn’t,” Rey said as she headed after Chewie. 

  
  
  

   Once inside the garage Rey stood and looked around at Han’s impressive display of tools and the old truck he’d been trying to restore. 

 

   “Wow!” she said, clearly impressed. “I never would have guessed you were into auto mechanics.”

 

   Ben shot a dirty glare at Chewie for leading her in here, then stepped up behind her. He let his eyes rove over the space that his father had spend most of his free time in and frowned. 

 

   “I’m not,” he said in a flat tone.

 

   Rey turned to look up at him with slight uncertainty. 

 

   “Dad was though. Spent most of his time in here...rather than with us.” 

 

   Rey didn’t say anything, her eyes instead just scanning his face. 

 

   “I felt we should just sell it all but mom wouldn’t allow it. My uncle ended up coming over to clean it all up. The two of them would hang out in here from time to time. But none of it has been touched since.”

 

   Ben then looked over at Chewie and found him patiently waiting next to the door that lead inside. 

 

   “Don’t even know why you came in here, stupid dog.” He opened the door and waved for Rey to step inside. “He knows I don’t come in this way.”

 

                                                                             ~

 

   Rey was unsure how to feel. She’d went from awe to excitement to uncomfortable all in the span of less than five minutes. The inside was lovely enough. Ben didn’t really show the place off as he led her through the entry and into their kitchen then dining room. He slowed his pace as he approached the living room and Rey spotted why. Chewie jumped up onto a sofa and laid next to an older woman with a braided crown of brown and gray hair. The woman looked up from her book and smiled when she spotted the two of them. Rey glanced over at Ben, who was leaning against the doorway.

 

   “Mom, this is Rey Kanata,” he said looking back at her.

 

   Rey stepped forward and offered a shy wave and greeting. 

 

   “Rey, this is my mom. Leia.”

   “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Solo. You have a lovely home.”

 

   Rey watched as the woman smiled at her even more and, placing her book down, rose from the sofa. 

 

   “It’s nice to meet you too, Rey. It’s been a long time since I saw you last.”

 

   Rey furrowed her brow in confusion. 

 

   “We’ve met?” she asked, at the same time Ben blurted, “You know her?”

 

   Leia laughed and turned toward a cabinet and began looking through what looked to be old VHS tapes. 

 

   “Mom?” Ben asked nervously, “What are you looking for?”

   “That old video of you getting baptized. We used to attend that old church Maz went to and Rey’s in the shot for a brief glimpse.”

 

   Rey felt very confused. She didn’t remember ever seeing Leia or a little version of Ben there. And Maz hadn’t attended a baptism in years. How long ago was this video? 

 

   “Mom, really,” Ben said in slight panic. “We don’t need to watch this. We’ll take your word for it!”

   “Oh, here it is!” Leia proclaimed as she pulled the VHS tape she was looking for out and placed it into a boxy VCR.

 

   Rey pressed her lips together to keep from laughing at just how silly this introduction had become and watched as Leia began to fast forward through clips long forgotten in her memory. Crowds of people standing around eating while children chased one another around an open fire. 

   Rey recalled those picnics. She loved throwing styrofoam cups into the flames and watching them be consumed and turned to ash. She also recalled the feel of her feet slipping on the uneven bank of the shallow river and splashing into the cool water, causing sandy dirt to swirl around her. Maz was always telling her to keep an eye out for snakes in the weeds and rowdy boys who might drowned her.

   She looked over at Ben and silently wondered if maybe he had been one of those boys Maz warned about. But she didn't think so. And looking at him now, with his large hand covering most of his face that showed nothing but a deep level of regret and embarrassment, she doubted he would have even gotten into the river. 

 

   “Ah!” Leia called out, pausing the tape and pushing play. “Here we are. ...Oh, Ben, look how adorable you are!”

 

   Ben groaned in response. 

 

   They watched as a young, gangly, big eared, teenage Ben stood nervously next to a man that looked a little like him. 

 

   “Is that-”

   “My dad. Yeah.”

 

   Rey stayed silent and watched as the pastor let up a woman in her mid thirties out of the water and passed her onto an older man with a grey and white trimmed beard. Once the woman was safely back on land the older man reached out his hand and called to Ben. Poor young Ben looked terrified. 

 

   “That’s my brother, Luke,” Leia clarified, pointing to the man with the trimmed beard. 

   “Oh,” Rey managed to say. 

 

   Rey hadn’t known. Or, at least, known but not cared about such a thing at such a young age. Ben huffed beside her as he watched his uncle help him into the water and towards the pastor. 

 

   “Good ‘ol Uncle Luke. So worried about my soul that he was willing to help drowned me.”

   “Ben!” Leia hissed. “Don’t be dramatic.”

   “Do you know how terrifying that was?” Ben yelled. “And for what? Some stupid display of faith?”

 

   Leia waved for him to hush as they watched Luke cross Ben’s arms across his chest and the pastor began to pray. Ben’s eyes were clenched shut and his posture ridged. Once the prayer was done Luke and the pastor slowly lowered Ben backwards towards the water. As soon as his back touched he flailed his long arms out towards the two older men. The pastor stumbled backwards and dropped him. Ben slid back and splashed around, grabbing onto Luke and cursing in a cracked voice. On the tape, Leia could be heard urging Han to do something, but instead the man just stood there and laughed at the whole scene.

   Rey glanced up to look at Ben. He was staring at the screen with the same look he would wear at work when he was on the verge of an outburst. The sound of people singing hymns drew back Rey’s attention. Ben was storming back onto the grass, a towel now billowing around his shoulders from how quickly he was leaving everyone else behind. As the camera turned and Leia’s voice called out to him, a young little Rey danced into the frame. Her hair had been so long then, and Rey was clearly lost in her imagination; completely oblivious to the traumatic event that had just taken place.  

 

   Leia stopped the tape and removed it.

 

   “Rey, I forgot just how long your hair was. It’s darkened a bit. Then again, mine has lost a bit of its color,” she laughed to herself. 

   “That was completely unnecessary, mom,” Ben said in a cold tone.

 

   Leia gave him an innocent look as she shrugged and returned to her spot on the sofa. 

 

   “Well you asked how I knew her.”

 

   Ben sighed heavily and headed towards the stairs. 

 

   “Rey, when your done getting reacquainted with my mother and she’s done forcing home videos upon you, you can find me in my room. Up the stairs and to the left. I’ll leave it unlocked.”

 

   The two women listened in silence as Ben stomped his way up the steps and ended it with a slam of a door. Rey looked over at Leia and found the woman giving her a wink. Rey shifted her weight from one foot to the next. On one had it had be slightly funny but on the other she’d felt sorry for him. Rey had never asked to be baptized because she too didn’t see a point in “proving faith” and for the same fear of drowning as Ben. Yet as Leia looked at her expectantly she felt as though she had to say something. 

 

   “They stopped having those baptismal picnics a really long time ago. I don’t remember seeing you all though.”

   “Well we didn’t attend every Sunday. And we stopped going all together shortly after this incident.” 

   “I do feel bad for him.”

   “Well,” Leia sighed, “He’ll move past it one of these days. Though, I do wish Han had helped him rather than laughed. They bickered the whole way home over it. And Ben wouldn’t talk to Luke for months.” 

   “Well,” Rey said as she looked over at the stairs, “I guess I’ll head up and check on him. Thank you for letting me come over. Uh, it was nice meeting you...again.”

 

   Leia smiled warmly then grabbed her book. 

 

   “You too, dear.” 

  
  


                                                                  ~

 

   Ben couldn’t believe his mother had done that. Show the girl she knew he had a crush on an old video of him looking like an utter fool. 

 

_    At least she didn’t laugh.  _

 

   He furiously yanked off his stupid frilly shirt and threw it onto the closet floor. He’d throw it out later. He then turned the air on, slipped on his favorite Knights of Ren t-shirt, and fell onto his couch in front of the tv. He didn’t even bother to turn it on. He just stared at his reflection on the screen. 

   Before he could sink into self pity he heard the sound of footsteps at his door. Ben looked behind his reflection on the screen and watched as Rey cautiously opened his door and peeked her head in. 

 

   “Hey,” she said softly.

 

   Ben said nothing at first, but laid his head onto the back of the couch to watch her from the corner of his eye as she quietly came over to sit next to him, her body turned to face him. Rey placed her arms over the back of the sofa and laid her head on top of them, so that she could look directly into his face. They sat there like that for a couple of seconds before Rey softly spoke.

 

   “If it makes you feel any better, I found all that really weird and uncomfortable. I mean, your mom seems nice and all, but that whole thing was just…”

 

   He watched her shrug and offer an apologetic smile. Ben didn’t smile back, but the look she gave him did make him feel better. She hadn’t laughed and she hadn’t picked on him. That was more than his family had done, and he appreciated it. 

 

   “It is weird though to think that I actually might have known you all those years ago.”

 

   Now that he wasn’t fuming he had to admit it had been strange to see this beautiful young woman in front of him dancing around as a small little girl, looking so much younger than him. 

 

   “I’m glad you didn’t. You wouldn’t have liked me back then.”

 

   She rolled her eyes at him but then gave him one of her playful smiles.

 

   “Who says I like you now?” 

 

   Ben suppressed the urge to smile and instead sat at up so as to lean toward her and look at her through the fallen strands of his hair. 

 

   “I’d say the fact that you followed me home and sat next to me on my couch is a sign.”

 

   Rey shook her head and chuckled at him, yet to his surprise, moved her hand towards him and gently brushed his hair out of his face. Ben didn’t dare move. He just looked at her as she looked over his face then glanced down at his shirt. 

 

   “Changed into something more comfortable I see.” 

 

   Her eyebrow arched to match her playful tone and she reached out to pluck lightly at his shirt. 

 

   “It was cute to see you all dressed up. But this suits you better.”

 

   He didn’t say anything. His brain was too busy waring over whether or not to close the small distance between them and kiss her. He badly wanted to but felt it might not be the right moment. And as he tried to make up his mind he watched as her eyes began to look around his room. Ben’s heart sank a little as she began to laugh.

 

_    Annnnnd the moment is gone.  _

 

   “Oh my God, Ben. Wow! I had a feeling you’re room would be a little nerdy but this is a lot worse than I thought.”

 

_    Worse? _

 

   “What do you mean?” he asked as he watched her leave the couch to now wander his room. 

 

   He watched as she looked over all his Wolverine, Daredevil, Spiderman, Batman, and Knights of Ren posters. Shook her head at the stacks of stored comics. Took in the details of his Final Fantasy figures in his glass display. Giggled at the Batmobile on his desk. Ran her fingers over the vinyl records of three different KOR albums. And finally stopped in front of his hanging collection of unopened action figures. 

 

   “I get collecting,” she said looking at him in disbelief. “But it still blows my mind people actually spend money on toys they’re not even going to open.” 

   “They’re gonna be worth more that way,” he said defensively as he stood. “Look,” he said pointing to a rare Wolverine. “This one alone has a current going price of over hundred dollars. Just think how much more it will be worth in a couple of years.”

   Rey looked at him skeptically. “And would you actually sell it?”

   Ben shrugged. “Well, yeah. If the buyer was willing to give me a good amount.”

   Rey hummed. “Yeah, I fell for the whole Beanie Baby crazy and used to tell Maz the same thing. Now I have bags and bags of them and they’re all worth just pennies.” 

   “Excuse me, but these aren’t dumb Beanie Babies.”

 

   Rey shrugged as she turned to look at the Final Fantasy figures again.

 

   “These are really nice,” she said. “I have the same Tidus, Yuna, and Seymour but not the rest. And where did you find the one’s from Eight?”

   “Found those in some anime shop in North Carolina.”

   “Wow. That’s a really nice Squall. I wouldn’t mind owning that one.”

   “Favorite game. Favorite character.” 

   Rey laughed. “I’m not surprised by that.”

   “I dressed up as him one year.”

   “Yeah?” Rey asked, now looking up at him.

   Ben nodded. “The whole getup. Painted the scar on, styled my hair, found his belt buckle. I’ve outgrown the coat and the boots don’t really fit anymore, but I still have his necklace.” Ben then turned to rummage through one of his drawers.  “...Here it is.”

 

   He held up Squall’s Lionheart pendant and let Rey examine it.

 

   “It’s lovely.”

 

   Without thinking about it, Ben unclasped it and placed it around Rey’s neck then stepped back to look at her. She touched it gently then gave him a wide grin before reaching back to remove it. 

 

   “No. Keep it,” he said, reaching out and brushing away her hands for a brief moment. “...I know for a fact you have boots and a leather coat that would go with it.” 

   Rey smiled at him skeptically. “Ben, I can’t take your necklace. You clearly like it.”

   “No, no, no. Look,” he said quickly. “I have two of them. I ordered a second one when I thought I lost the first. So, it’s fine. ...I want you to have it. ...Please.”

 

   Rey bit her lip in thought before looking back down at the pendant then smiled and nodded. 

 

   “Alright then. Thanks.”

 

   Ben swallowed. He’d actually bought the second pendant for his old ex but had just kept it when she’d told him she didn’t want it. Seeing it on Rey however, and seeing how happy she seemed to be wearing it, he was glad he’d held on to it all this time. 

 

   “You’re welcome.” 

 

   They both stood awkwardly as Rey ran her thumb across her new necklace and looked around the room before settling her eyes on the tv. 

 

   “So, shall we see which of us is the better driver? Or would you rather play a fighting game? And I’ll warn you now, don’t pick on me. I’m a button-masher when it comes to fighting games.”

   Ben grinned. “After riding with you in your car, I think it’s safe to say I’m the better driver.”

   “Ha. Ha. Funny. ...Racing it is. Set up the game. I’ll be back with my wheel.”

 

                                                                        ~

 

   Rey couldn’t believe he’d won again. They’d been sitting here for almost two hours and she’d only won one race and three rounds of Mortal Kombat. She let the controller fall from her hand and slouched back into the couch. 

 

   “Do you accept defeat?” Ben asked her playfully. 

 

   Rey let out an exaggerated sigh and looked over at his smug smile. 

 

   “Fine. You win. ...You’re going to rub this in my face aren’t you?”

   He laughed. “Maybe. You actually weren’t that bad though. For a button masher.”

   “Uh huh.”

   “Really. And a lot of the races were super close. I had fun.”

   “Me too. What else you got?”

 

   Ben crouched onto the floor and called out the games he had on offer. Nothing really peaked Rey’s interest. 

 

   “Not even Halo?” he asked in shock.

   “Nah.”

   “Seriously?”

   She gave a shy shrug. “I mean, I played a little of Halo 2 with Teedo once, and the graphics and creatures were pretty cool looking, but I’m not very good at First Person Shooters. ...He and the family we were hanging out with all got a good laugh out of my poor aim. 

   Ben frowned. “If you’d like to try again, I promise I won’t make fun of you.”

 

   She gave him an appreciative smile but shook her head. 

 

   “No, that’s okay. I’m fine sticking with Role Playing Games.”

 

   Ben nodded then looked at the clock. 

 

   “Is there anything else you’d like to do? We can watch a movie or, if you’re hungry, I can see if mom has anything in the fridge?”

 

   Rey wasn’t hungry, and she really didn’t feel like watching a movie, but she didn’t have any idea what to do next. All she knew was she wasn’t yet ready to go home. 

 

   “We can watch something I guess.”

 

   She watched as Ben put the game cases back in their place and crawled to the other side of his entertainment center to pull out a full carrying case full of dvds. It took a lot of willpower to not giggle at the sight of such a large man crawling on a floor. Rey felt the sudden spark of mischief hit her and looked around. As Ben started calling out movie titles, Rey’s eyes landed on the pillow he’d been using as back support. She bit her lip and slowly moved her arm toward the pillow. Grasping it, Rey slowly pulled it towards her, angled it behind Ben’s head and held her breath as she swung back enough to gently pop him in the back of the head. 

 

   “What the-”

 

   Rey bust out laughing, her hands flying to her mouth to muffle to sound. Ben looked at her stunned for a moment then crouched in front of her with a crooked grin. 

 

   “Did you really just hit me with a pillow?”

 

   She nodded vigorously and tried to compose herself. 

 

   “I couldn’t help myself! The pillow was just sitting there and the opportunity was just too good to pass up and-”

   “Okay then. If that’s what you want to play,” he said in a playfully dark tone. “I’ll play.” 

 

                                                                 ~

 

   Ben grabbed hold of the pillow in her hand, which caused her to squeak as she tried to keep a hold of it. With one good yank the pillow was out of her hand and he immediately smashed it against her face. Rey bust out into a fit of laughter. She was half-heartedly trying to take the pillow from him but between her laughter and his constant onslaught, she just couldn’t get a firm enough grasp. 

 

   “Hold up!” Rey panted.

   Ben still held the pillow as though he was going to strike again but paused and laughed.

 

   “You ever going to fight back?”

 

   Rey stood and wandered next to his bed. Ben knew what she was doing. She was going to grab the pillow off his bed and use it. He stepped back as much as the space in his room allowed and waited, holding the pillow defensively. 

   Sure enough, Rey bent down as though to sit on his bed yet grabbed his pillow and used the edge of the bed as momentum to launch herself at him. Both of their pillows smashed together. She tried her best to push him back, but where she was using all her strength he was barely having to try. He found it humorous just how much effort she was putting into this. The more hits he scored the more she huffed her frustration and growled out an attack. 

   Somehow she’d backed him into his desk chair and caused him to lose his balance and wobble towards the back of the couch. Ben found the whole thing funny as Rey now pressed her advantage and hit him mercilessly. 

 

   “You are vicious!” he laughed, throwing his pillow at her to buy himself a moment of respite. 

 

   He ran and jumped onto his bed and grabbed a third pillow and turned to watch Rey leap up and off the corner of the couch, crossing mid air the little gap between the two pieces of furniture, and bring down her pillow onto his. 

 

   “Yield!” she demanded in a manic giggle. 

   “No!”

 

   Ben slapped his pillow hard against her face. The force caused the pillow to slip from his grip but Rey was having to jump off the bed to avoid falling backwards. In slight desperation he jumped down after her and grabbed her pillow. He was actually getting winded from this nonsense. 

 

   “If you stop, I’ll stop,” he offered.

 

   Instead she gave him a feral grin and grunted as she used the last of her strength to push him back.  

 

   “Jesus!” he yelled as he fell back onto the bed. 

 

   Rey paused to laugh at him before raising her pillow to deliver a blow to his face. Ben flexed his leg out to hit her behind the knee and caused her to fall forward. The pillow fell next to him as Rey held out her hands to keep from smashing into him. He grabbed her wrists so as to help ease her fall and so that she wouldn’t attempt to grab for the pillow again. 

 

                                                                    ~

 

   The two of them just laid there, chuckling and trying to catch their breath. 

 

   “I can’t even tell you the last time I had a pillow fight,” Ben said after a while.

   “Yeah,” Rey breathed. “That was a fun one. ...You cheated though.”

   “What? How did I cheat? I defended myself!”

 

   Rey went to sit up but realized she had been laying on his chest and that Ben was still holding on to her wrists. She raised them so they could both look at them, then raised an eyebrow.

 

   “Oh,” Ben said as he let her go. 

 

   Rey pushed herself over him just enough so that she could comfortably straddle his waist, then sat up and poked his chest. She had to suppress a smile from forming due to the incredulous look he was now giving her.

 

   “You cheated by causing me to fall and drop my pillow.”

 

   Ben glanced down to where she sat then looked back into her eyes.

 

   “I’m thinking it was worth it.”

 

   The buzz of adrenaline was still running through her but Rey now realized where this situation had gotten her. She was in his lap, in a position of control, and Ben was clearly aware of it and allowing her to make the next move. She’d imagined what it might be like to find herself in this very situation; having him beneath her. She couldn’t help the small uneven breath that escaped her as she looked at him.

 

_    Don’t freak out Rey. You can do this. Just kiss him. You’ve always wanted to. It seems like he wants you to. Just go for it. _

 

   “So,” she began a little breathlessly, “You’ll admit that I won?”

 

   As she said this, Rey lowered herself closer to him till she hovered just far enough above him that the tip of the Lionheart pendant rested against the base of his throat. Ben’s hands had ghosted over her hips and lightly settled on her waist as he shook his head; his eyes glancing between hers and her mouth. 

 

   “You didn’t win. It was a draw.” 

 

   Rey would have laughed or smiled or maybe even argued, but her brain wasn’t working anymore. Part of her screamed to stop hesitating and just kiss him already. Another part was in absolute panic. 

 

_    What are you doing? Kiss him damn it! Look how soft those lips look! _

 

   Rey swallowed and tilted her head slightly as she made the move to finally kiss him.

 

_    WAIT! What are you doing? _

 

   In a split second of panic Rey grabbed the edge of the nearby pillow and jerked up so as to make room to wacked Ben in the face. She let out a huff of a laugh.

 

   “I win!” she declared.

 

_     Bloody hell, Rey, what the fuck did you just do that for? You could have kissed him and instead you hit him with a pillow? ….Oh shit. _

 

   Rey quickly yanked the pillow away from his face and threw it onto the floor. Panic about the kiss now changed into panic over ruining it. There was no way in hell she’d get to kiss him now. Ben’s eyes were closed and he clucked his tongue while tapping his thumb against her side. 

 

   “I see now. You pin me down, lower my defences, all just so you can get in the killing blow.”

 

   Rey’s eyes widened in horror and she opened her mouth to explain how she’d panicked, but Ben didn’t give her the chance. His hands tightened around her waist and he rolled her off of him and began tickling her merselessly. 

 

   “Ben!” she yelped between gasps and laughter. “Ben, I didn’t… I just…”

   “Nope. Can’t trust you.”

 

   Rey screamed her laughter now and was trying desperately to get away.

 

   “Ben, really...this kind of hurts. Ow!”

 

   The tickling stopped but his hands were still wrapped around her. As she tried to catch her breath she felt him roll and press her back into the bed. Ben hovered an arm’s length above her and stared at her for several seconds before leaning to the side so as to bring the discarded pillow down on her face. 

 

   “Now we’re even,” he stated.

 

   Rey just laid there till she felt his weight leave the bed. 

 

   “I deserve that,” she said as she pushed the pillow off her. 

 

   She sat up to see Ben standing in front of his fan and wiping his face with the bottom of his shirt. The sight made Rey want to groan at her own stupidity for having ruined their kiss and destroying any chance of anything else happening. 

 

   “It’s hot as hell up here now. I’m gonna grab a drink from down stairs. Would you like something?”

 

   Rey was worried he was mad, but his tone sounded neutral, and he probably wouldn’t have offered to bring her something if he was. 

 

   “If there’s anything diet, I’d appreciate it. Thank you.”

   He nodded. “Be right back.”

 

   As soon as the door was shut behind him Rey loudly groaned and slapped herself in the face.

 

   “What the hell is wrong with you Rey? You should have kissed him!”

 

                                                                            ~

 

   Ben couldn’t help but smile as he listened to Rey cuss herself out. He pushed his damp hair back and headed down the stairs. 

 

_    God that could have turned out differently. ...But that’s okay. She got scared, so it’s probably for the best. Just act like it wasn’t a big deal.  _

 

   He wandered into the kitchen and pulled a can of Leia’s Diet Pepsi out and a can of his Mountain Dew. Closing the fridge, he popped open his drink and guzzled the first few ounces.

 

    “I’m glad the two of you are having fun, but could you be less loud during sex?” his mother’s voice asked. 

 

   Green soda spewed out from Ben’s mouth and all over the fridge door. Coughing, he looked up to see Leia now sitting at the dining table typing away at her laptop. 

 

   “What did you say?” he coughed. 

 

   Leia looked over at him in amusement then pointed a finger up to the ceiling before looking back at her computer screen. 

 

   “All that ruckus that was going on, you coming down here all out of breath and covered in sweat. I suppose I should just be thankful you’re in here with clothes on.”

   “Christ, mom!”

   “And I’m glad she’s enjoying herself but she’s kind of loud.” 

   “No! That-”

 

   He placed the soda cans down before he dropped them and grabbed a dish towel so as to wipe up the soda he’d spewed everywhere. 

 

   “That is not what was happening.”

   “No?”

   “No! ...We were actually having a pillow fight.”

   “Is that what you’re calling it?”

   “I’m not joking! We weren’t having sex. We were actually jumping around and hitting each other with pillows. I swear.”

 

   Leia looked at him skeptical but he caught the slight blush of her cheeks. 

 

   “Oh. Well then. ...Rey has an odd taste in activities. I just assumed-”

   “Ah! No! No. I don’t want to know what it was you assumed. Because it very clearly wasn’t. ...So...I’m gonna go back upstairs now and...we’ll try to be more quiet for you.” 

 

   Ben quickly threw the wet dish towel into the sink, grabbed the two sodas and hurried out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Once at his door he shouldered it open then closed it with his back. Rey was sitting on his bed, cross-legged, looking over his dvd case collection. 

 

   “Hey, you have really good taste in movies…” 

 

   Her voice trailed off as she looked at his face. Ben walked over and handed her the Diet Pepsi then fell into his computer chair and took a deep gulp of his own drink. 

 

   “Everything okay?” she asked. 

 

   Ben couldn’t help but huff a small laugh as he rubbed his face before pushing back his hair. 

 

   “Yeah. Mom just thought we were up here having sex. That’s all.”

 

   He watched as Rey paused mid sip and looked over at him with wide panicked eyes. Her face, and the fact that they’d come close to heading in that direction, yet his mother thought they had, was all crazy enough to make him crack up with laughter. 

 

   “What?” Rey asked in that high pitch that would sometimes come from nowhere. 

 

   This made him laugh even harder.

 

   “Yeah. She asked that we not be so loud next time.”

   Rey paled. “You did tell her we weren’t, right? That we were just pillow fighting?”

   “Yep,” he nodded. “She didn’t believe me at first. Thought that was just a coded excuse.” 

   “Oh my God,” Rey said, hiding her face in her hands. “I’m going to have to leave your house through your window aren’t I. ...I’m not sure I can face her ever again.” 

 

   Ben couldn’t help but enjoy her embarrassment. 

 

   “You’ll be okay. She actually got a little embarrassed herself when she realized I was telling the truth and we actually hadn’t been.”

 

   Rey only groaned. Ben finished off this Mountain Dew then walked over to her.

 

   “So. Up for that movie now?”

 

    Rey moved her hands and looked up at him. Her whole face had turned pink and it was adorable. 

 

   “Yeah. ...But I don’t know what to pick.”

 

   Ben took the binder from her lap and headed over to his dvd player. 

 

   “In the mood for dumb stupid comedy?”

   “That sounds great actually. I could use the humor.”

   Ben nodded. “Aqua Teen Hunger Force it is then.”

 

                                                                     ~

 

   Rey hadn’t been prepared for that level of stupid. But she was surprised by just how much she had enjoyed the show. By the end of three hours, her and Ben both were quoting their favorite lines and laughing about it. It had been nice laying on his couch the whole time as well. At some point he’d told her to get comfy and had taken her legs and placed them in his own lap. And she’d kept them there, thrilled at the gesture and thankful she’d shaved that morning. 

 

   “That was awesome. ...And wow, do I have to pee. Oh shit. It’s after seven. I should really head home now. I’m surprised Maz hasn’t called.” 

   “Well,” Ben said, playing with the elastic band of her sock, “Cell reception is spotty on this road. You can always use that as an excuse.” 

   She hummed but pulled her legs off of him and stood. 

 

   “Bathroom...downstairs?”

   “Yeah, you can use that one. Just go past the dining room. Do you want me to bring your purse and shoes down?”

   “Uh….yeah, sure. Thanks.” 

 

   And with that Rey bolted out the door and down the steps. She offered Chewie a quick hello and dashed into the bathroom. When she came out she found Ben sitting at the table petting Chewie. Rey smiled at them both then checked her phone. She had gotten a message from Maz; just letting her know that dinner would be in the fridge. 

 

   “Yeah,” Rey sighed. “Looks like she did call. She has dinner waiting for me.”

   “Oh yeah,” Ben said with slight realization. “Guess it has been a couple of hours since we ate. I’m sorry. I should have offered you something.”

   “No, it’s fine. I was having too much fun to noticed either,” she said as she slipped on her shoes. “Where is your mom?”

   “In her bedroom reading a book.”

   “Ah. Well I won’t bother her then. Tell her good night and thank you, for me?”

   “Sure. I’ll walk you to your car.”

 

   Rey enjoyed the fact that Ben seemed to keep bumping into her on purpose. And it was cute that Chewie seemed happy to tag along. Once at her car she turned and crouched so as to pet Chewie goodbye. The little terrier seemed happy enough to get her attention, but she stood back up when she heard Ben open her car door for her. She smiled at him and walked around but stopped before fully getting in. 

 

   “I had a lot of fun today.”

   “Me too. And, admit it, the zoo was a good idea.”

   She laughed. “The zoo was a good idea, yes.”

   “You should come over again some time.”

   Rey grinned. “I’d like that.” Then she snapped her fingers. “Shit. I forgot my wheel.”

   “Hang on, I’ll run in and get it.”

   “You sure?” she called after him. 

 

   But he and Chewie were already back in the house. Rey sighed but got in the car and turned it on. She was changing out cds when he returned, racing wheel and petals in hand. She rolled down the window and took each item from him. 

 

   “Thanks.”

 

   Ben lowered himself to look at her through the window.

 

   “Call or IM me once you get home. Just to let me know you made it safe. And didn’t get in trouble for being out too late.” 

   “It might be a bit before I can...but I think I can sneak onto my laptop and instant message you for a bit.”

 

   Ben gave her that bashful grin she loved. 

 

   “Goodnight, Rey.”

   “Goodnight, Ben.”

 

                                                                 ~

 

   Ben’s heart wanted to explode out of his chest. Over all this had been one of the best days he’d had in a while. And one of the best dates he’d ever been on. Back inside he knocked on his mother’s door. Leia looked up at him.

 

   “Rey went home. She said to tell you thank you and to wish you a goodnight.”

   “Well that was sweet of her.”

 

   Ben then turned to leave but stopped when Leia called his name.

 

   “So when are you going to actually ask her out?”

 

   Ben let out a chuckle and tapped his knuckle against the door frame for luck. 

 

   “Think next week is too soon?”

 

   He watched as Leia gave it some thought.

 

   “Needs to be sooner.”

 

   Ben shook his head but grinned the whole way to the kitchen. 


	16. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben has a plan to ask Rey out. He just hopes it works.

   “I don’t know,” Ben paused, combing his fingers through his hair for what felt like the thousandth time. “How does roses sound?”

   “Roses,” Hux answered flatly.

   “Yeah. Like, a dozen roses, or something.”

 

   Hux closed the lid on the boot box and turned to stare blankly at him. 

 

   “Sounds generic. ...I’m disappointed in you.”

   Ben rolled his eyes. “Well isn’t that what guys are supposed to do when they ask a girl out? Buy flowers?”

   “Does Rey even like flowers?”

 

   Ben opened his mouth to reply but the snapped it shut.

 

_    Shit. I don’t even know. _

 

   “You never even asked, did you?” Hux smirked.

 

   Ben looked around at the surrounding boots and shrugged.

 

   “Well, you’re off to a good start,” Hux deadpanned.

   “Oh shut up. Why am I even asking you anyway?”

   “I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure that out. Why don’t you just go ask her? ‘Rey, do you like flowers?’”

   “I can’t do that! She’ll figure something’s up.”

   “But wasn’t it you who said she was so clueless that she couldn’t get a joke if it slapped her in the face?”

 

   Ben bit the inside of his cheek and sighed. 

 

   “Okay, yes, I said that. And yes, things do tend to fly over her head. But I’m still not going to ask her.”

 

   Hux shrugged and pushed the cart back towards the warehouse. Ben followed.

 

   “Well I don’t know what to tell you. It makes no difference to me what you give the girl. Flowers, candy bars, comics. Give her a kitten for all I care.”

   “Who are we talking about? What are we giving away?” Poe asked loudly. 

 

   Ben shoved his hands into his pockets and slumped his shoulders. 

 

   “Ben plans to ask Rey out tomorrow but doesn’t know how to go about it,” Hux provided.

   “I have an idea,” he shot back.

 

   Poe threw his hands into the air, then sat the roll of stickers on top of the stack of boxes he’d been stickering. 

 

   “Benny-Boy, this is great news!”

 

   Ben braced for Poe’s friendly yet heavy handed slap on the back. 

 

   “Glad you took my advice. Now. What’s the game plan?” 

   Ben straightened. “Well I was thinking I’d show up early tomorrow morning, maybe with a dozen roses or something and sneak them into the breakroom before she arrives, then leave.”

   “That’s it?”

   “Well, I was thinking I might come in around lunch time and see what she says.”

 

   A snort from Hux could be heard down the hall. Poe nodded and walked back towards the boxes, scratching at his fast forming stubble. Ben had always slightly envied the man’s ability to grow an actual full blown beard. 

 

   “Roses are a safe bet. Make sure to add a card. Declare your feelings. You sure you want her to just find them? Wouldn’t you rather give them to her in person?”

   “No. She seemed to like the surprise cd I left her. I figured she might like the surprise of roses too. And I’d probably say something stupid if I was there in person.”

   Poe nodded as if he agreed. Ben wasn’t sure if he should feel insulted by that, but let it go. At least Poe was willing to offer suggestions.

 

   “Well I’m here in the morning. I can’t wait to see what she says. I’m excited for you Solo.”

 

   Ben offered him a half-hearted smile.

 

   “Actually, could you make sure she sees them?”

   “Sure pal. But I would think someone would notice a vase of flowers sitting in our drab breakroom.”

 

   Ben couldn’t help but laugh.

 

   “You’d think so. ...But I’d rather not leave it to chance.” 


	17. The Allure Of Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben are bad at this whole asking each other out thing.

   Rey wasn’t looking very forward to work. Ben, Finn, and Rose were scheduled off today and she was going to have to work the weekend as well. She tried telling herself that at least Hera was there to trade a joke or two with. But that didn’t make up for the fact that she’d have to cover Kaz during lunch.

   No, Rey was sure this was just going to be one more pointless day she’d have to suffer though. 

 

_    At least I get to leave at five today! ….So I can go home and be bored there.  _

 

   She sighed and walked inside, letting the smell of shoes once again wash over her.

 

   “Morning, Rey!” Kaz said happily.

   “Good morning Kaz.”

   “Hey, I brought in some cookies if anyone wants some.”

   “Yeah?”

   “Yeah. They’re on the breakroom table if you want one.”

   “Oh. Well, thanks Kaz.”

   “No problem!” 

  
  
  


   Rey continued on her way to the breakroom. 

 

_    Well, at least I get a cookie out of being here this morning. _

 

   Rey walked in to see Hera at the table eating a bowl of her Raisin Bran cereal.

 

   “Morning Hera,” Rey greeted as she placed her purse into her locker and grabbed her smock. 

   “Morning Rey,” the woman greeted in return, a slight smile to her voice. 

 

   Rey turned to head out the door but then stopped and spun around.

 

   “Kaz said something about there being cookies?”

 

   She watched as the older woman looked at her for a moment then slowly nodded towards a container of cookies on the table. Rey walked up to it and eagerly took one out and stuffed it into her mouth. 

 

   “Mmmm. Sugar cookie,” she mumbled. “Well, see you on the floor.”

 

   Rey licked her fingers and closed the door behind her. Hera sat there for a moment with her spoon still half way towards her mouth. Had she really not noticed? Right as Hera took another bite, Poe ran into the room and looked around then addressed her. 

 

   “Rey here? Did I miss it? Did she see them? What did she say?”

 

   Hera rolled her eyes and shook her head as she finished chewing. 

 

   “She asked where the cookies were.”

   “Cookies?” Poe asked, confused.

 

   Once again Hera nodded towards the container. Poe walked up to it, took a cookie for himself, nibbled at it then looked at the large vase of red roses. 

 

   “And she didn’t even noticed them? She didn’t say anything else?”

 

   Hera shook her head once more.

 

   “She said, ‘Mmm. Sugar Cookie’, and walked out the door.”

 

   Poe shoved the last of the cookie into his mouth and scratched at his head in confusion. 

 

   “I don’t get it. How do you miss that?” he asked, waving his hand toward the flowers. 

   “Well we are talking about Rey here.”

   “Yikes! Explains why she likes him. She can’t see his faults.”

 

   At that Hera snorted, causing the milk in her spoon to splash on herself.  

   “Well,” Poe sighed. “I promised Ben I’d make sure she saw them. Guess I’ll go do just that.”

 

                                                                        ~

 

   Rey looked up from the mirror she was cleaning and spotted Poe coming towards her with a broad smile on his face. 

 

   “So, Rey, what did you think of them?”

 

   Rey blinked and furrowed her brow. 

 

   “What did I think of what?”

   “The thing. In the breakroom. On the table?”

   “The cookies?”

 

   Poe’s smile disappeared as he brought his hand up to rub his face.

 

   “Yeah, they were good. You should try one. They’re sugar-”

   “Sugar cookie. Yeah, I know,” he replied in a flustered tone.

 

   Poe sighed and waved for her to follow him.

 

   “Okay, come on.” 

   “Why?”

   “Because I need to show you something you missed.” 

 

   Rey felt so confused, but she followed him anyway back towards the breakroom. Poe opened the door and swept his hand along with it. Rey just stood there. He gave her a little push into the room towards the table and stood back to stare at her. Rey looked over at Hera, who was now drying off her cereal bowl. Rey shook her head. 

 

   “I don’t get it. What did I miss?”

   “You really don’t see it?” asked Poe. 

   “What’s on the table, Rey,” Hera said gruffly. 

 

   Rey couldn’t figure out why they seemed so irritated with her. All she’d done was eat a cookie. 

 

   “I see papers. A marker. The cookies. Flowers.” 

   “YES!” Poe yelped. “That’s weird, right?”

   Rey shrugged. “I mean, yeah. They’re pretty. Who are they for?”

 

   At this Poe slapped his hand over his face.

 

   “Just read the card, Rey,” Hera said with exasperation. 

 

   Rey blinked back her confusion and embarrassment and walked over to pluck the tiny card that was hidden among the velvety red roses and began to read the tiny words written in blue ink.

 

              _Rey, would you go out with me?_

_                      -Ben _

 

   She read the short note twice then looked over the flowers. A small laugh escaped as she started to piece everything together and how funny it was that she really had missed this ridiculously large vase of flowers. Rey wasn’t all that crazy about roses, or flowers in general for that matter. But it was still sweet of him she supposed. 

 

   “So?” she heard Poe ask. 

 

   Rey turned to him and grinned down at the card. 

 

   “Ben asked me out.”

   “That’s it?”

   “Yeah,” she laughed and handed him the card. “I feel really foolish not noticing this earlier.”

 

   Rey heard Hera snort in amusement as she walked out the door. Poe was still looking at the card. 

 

   “This is all that he wrote? There’s nothing else?”

 

   Rey turned to look for another card but shook her head.

 

   “Nope. Looks like just the one.” 

 

   Poe was shaking his head but his eyes matched the warmth that accompanied his slight smile. He handed her back the card. Rey put it back in place and followed Poe back towards the warehouse.

 

   “I have never met a more perfectly mismatched couple. So? What’s your answer going to be?”

   Rey grinned. “Yes. Of course.”

   Poe laughed and nodded then gave her a tight hug. 

 

   “Well I hear he might be coming by sometime around lunch. Might be a good time to tell him.”

 

   Poe stopped in front of the back computer and Rey walked over to the door that would lead out onto the floor. 

 

   “Is that so? Making another one of his ‘Soda Runs’?”

 

   Rey didn’t stay to see his face, but she could hear him give a hearty laugh. As she walked through Boots back towards Women’s, Rey could hear Amilyn’s voice echo from the open breakroom. 

 

   “Oh my gosh! Look at these beautiful roses! Are they for me?”

 

   Rey laughed to herself and continued on her path. She was suddenly very glad Finn and Rose hadn’t been here for all this. They would have never let her live down how oblivious she had been. 

 

                                                               ~

 

   Ben had been a nervous wreck all morning. He’d kept telling himself not to freak out. That if she agreed then she agreed. And if she didn’t then...then she didn’t and he’d been a total idiot and had read every sign wrong. Even so, he’d jumped at the chance to have Mitaka’s company when his friend asked if he could come hang out. Granted, that usually meant Mitaka just wanted to use his computer, but still. It gave him someone to pick on or, if things didn’t turn out like he hoped, sulk with.

   Ben had been watching the hours tick by till he figured it was close to Rey’s lunch time. 

 

   “I’m heading out for a Soda Run. Coming with?” 

 

   Mitaka was clicking away on the mouse and mashing the buttons on Ben’s new keyboard. Ben frowned and grabbed a nearby empty soda bottle and tossed it at Mitaka’s head. 

 

   “Ow! What?”

   “Soda Run. Coming?”

   “Uh...no thanks. I’m good.”

 

   Ben shook his head in frustration but got up and left the room. He found Chewie laying in the middle of the kitchen floor. His tail tapping out a slow thump as Ben neared. He petted the dog’s belly then headed towards the door. 

 

   “I’d say keep an eye on him boy, but he’s not leaving my chair. I’ll be back in a few.”

 

                                                                    ~

 

   He killed the engine as soon as he pulled up next to Rey’s car and shifted his hair out of his face, then hurried towards the door. He was surprised to see Rey on the register. He must have timed her lunch wrong. Or maybe there had been a change. Rey looked over at him and grinned. That was a good sign. ...Right?

 

   “Hey! Stay right there! I have a funny story to tell you.” 

 

_    Okay… Funny is...good. Yeah? _

 

   Then she turned and addressed the next customer. Ben stuffed his hands in his pockets and stood off to the side next to the rack of socks. Since the line had two more people in it and looked around and found the store to appear somewhat busy. 

 

   “Uh, I’ll be right back. I’m gonna grab a soda,” he informed her. She nodded.

 

   Ben shuffled past yet another person who’d gotten in line and headed for the breakroom. The vase of flowers were still on the table and Kaz was sitting next to it, drawing. Ben frowned then headed towards the back. 

 

   “Ben!” Amilyn called out. “Why am I not surprised to see you. I saw the flowers you brought in for Rey. They’re lovely!”

   “Oh, yeah. Hopefully she thought so.”

   “Well, she’s been pretty busy today. We all have. Why didn’t you just come by at five?”

   “I couldn’t wait any longer. I was hoping to catch her on her lunch break.”

   Amilyn nodded. “Yeah, I had her take it early. But you can always come back.”

   “Yeah. ...I’ll do that.”

 

   He had no intention of doing that. But he wasn’t going to tell his boss that. 

 

   “Well, I’ll just grab a soda and go then.”

 

   He moved to head towards the vending machine but Amilyn called him back. 

 

   “Yeah?”

   “I do think the two of you are cute, and I’m glad to see you smiling from time to time, but don’t let this affect either of your work. You’re still a keyholder.”

 

   It was a polite reminder of his place. And Ben understood why she would say such a thing. But it still make the hair on his neck bristle in irritation. 

 

   “It won’t,” he answered curtly. 

   Amilyn beamed at him. “Great!”

 

   Ben nodded a goodbye to her then quickly walked towards the warehouse. Poe was crawling around under the computer desk, plugging in cords that ran from two different box fans. It was hot, Ben noted. He wanted to ask what Rey’s reaction had been but, now paranoid that Amilyn might be in ear shot, Ben decided not to ask, and instead just continued over toward the vending machine.

   The box fans started up as Ben pressed for a bottle of Mountain Dew and he watched as Poe got back to his feet and sighed in relief as the blast of air hit him. 

 

   “Oh yeah. That’s better. Hey, Ben!”

   “Hey Poe.”

 

   Poe wandered over to him.

 

   “Your girl said you’d be by for a soda.”

 

   Ben couldn’t help but look at the bottle in his hand and give it a small smile. 

 

   “She like the flowers?” 

 

   He couldn’t help but ask. Poe shook his head and chuckled to himself. 

 

   “Yeah, she liked ‘em. After I literally had to point them out to her.”

   “What do you mean?”

   “Girl didn’t even notice. Hera said she came in, ate one of Kaz’s sugar cookies, and walked right out. I had her come back in the room and she still didn’t see them. Just kept talking about the cookies. Finally she noticed them and read your note. She was all smiles after that.”

   Ben couldn’t help but chuckle. “Why am I not surprised. Guess I should have bought her food instead of flowers.” 

 

   Poe gave him a smile and nodded as he walked back to stand in front of the fans.

 

   “So you got plans for the two of you tonight?” 

   “Uh, no. Not really. I figured she’d want time to think about it. Plus Mitaka is at the house hanging out. Not exactly romantic.” 

   Poe gave a small laugh. “You’re bad at this.”

  “Bye Poe,” he called as he left the warehouse through the Clearance room door. 

  
  


   Rey was finishing up with her last customer as he returned to the front. He stood off to the side and waited, now feeling like everyone of Amilyn’s security cameras were fixed on him. As the customer moved past him and out the door Rey looked up at him and beamed. 

 

   “So...I got your flowers. ...Thank you. They’re very pretty.”

 

   Ben couldn’t help but walk up to her and smile. 

 

   “Glad you like them. I wasn’t sure you would. But I hear I should have brought you cookies instead.”

 

   Rey bobbed her head from side to side then laughed. 

 

   “Hey, those were good cookies! And while I do love my roses, I’m not a big flower person. For future reference. But, I will rarely turn away a dessert.”

   “Noted.”

 

   There was a moment of silence between them. Then he realized he never actually got a confirmation as to whether or not she actually wanted to date. 

 

   “So, I’m assuming you would like to start dating?”

   Rey laughed. “Yes goofball. I’d like to start dating.”

   “Okay. Good. Just wanted to make sure. Didn’t want to assume.”

 

   Rey quirked an eyebrow at him but flashed him a smile. Relief and excitement seemed to rush through him all at once. All he wanted to do was to talk to her. But he once again felt like Amilyn was just watching him from some corner of the store. That was going to be annoying. 

 

   “Well...I should go.”

   Rey’s smile fell. “Okay.”

 

   Ben slowly walked backwards towards the door. 

 

   “Hey,” Rey called, “Do you have plans tonight?”

   Ben stalled. “Uh, no. I mean-

   “Can I come over? After work?”

 

   Ben paused. He hadn’t planned on her wanting to come over. He wanted her to, but he didn’t have the heart to kick Mitaka out over it. 

 

_    Crap! Why did I let Mitaka come over?  _

 

   “Well, Mitaka will be there. I kind of already invited him over…”

   “That’s okay! I don’t mind. We can just watch a movie or something.”

 

_    I just assumed she had plans. I hope she’s not like, super clingy or something.  _

 

   “Yeah...okay. Sure. As long as you don’t mind.”

   “I don’t mind.”

 

   Ben swallowed and nodded. 

 

   “Okay then. I’ll see you at the house, after work?”

   Rey beamed. “See you then!”

 

   Ben waved goodbye then quickly headed toward his car. Now all he had to do was sit on his couch and wait some more. She’d said yes. And that was a relief. But now he had to worry about Mitaka being a third wheel. Poe was right. He was bad at this. 


	18. A Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers! I'm sorry this chapter took forever to post. I gave birth on the first and my sleep deprived brain took some time to formulate words. And I have to give my husband a shout out for caring for the baby while took time to type and post this. 
> 
> Enjoy!

****

   Ben jogged up the stairs and opened his door to find Mitaka still in his desk chair playing American McGee’s Alice. The empty bottle he’d thrown still in the floor. He looked around and noticed just how trashed his room looked. 

   “Mitaka, clean up your mess,” Ben ordered as he started grabbing up the empty cereal bowls he’d left lying around. 

   Mitaka paused and looked at Ben in confusion. “What?”

   “Your mess! Soda cans, hot dog container, that plastic bag over there. Clean it up!”

   “Ok! Jeez. ....I take it she said no?”

   “No, she said yes. And she wants to come over in...four hours. And this room looks like shit.”

   “Why is she coming over?”

 

   This made Ben pause as he gave it some thought. After a few seconds he shrugged and continued his work. 

   “Hell if I know. She asked if she could and I said yes. Must be because she likes me or something.” 

 

   At this Mitaka gave a half hearted laugh and grabbed the plastic bag. 

   “Man, I wish I had a girlfriend.”

   “Then find one.”

   “Yeah, but it’s not that simple.”

 

   Ben tediously held onto the stack of bowls with one hand while using his other to open the door. 

   “Mit, I’m sure there’s some woman out there who’d have enough pity to go out with you.”

   “Hey, no need to be mean. But maybe you’re right. Who knows!”

   Ben couldn’t help but grin as he heard the optimism in his friend’s voice. When would he ever learn.

   “See? ...Just don’t be disappointed when she charges by the hour to spend time with you.”

   “Man! You suck!”

   Ben laughed all the way down the stairs. Mitaka always fell for his insults. Every time. It was mean, but he couldn’t help but enjoy it. It was just too easy. He was starting the dishwasher when Mitaka finally came down, plastic bag packed to the brim with trash in his hand.

   “So am I getting kicked out for the afternoon?” Mitaka asked, sulking.

   Ben debated this for a moment then gave a small shrug.

   "I told her you were hanging out and she seemed okay with it. But I wasn’t going to make you leave.”

   “Cool. ...Thanks.”

   The two then headed back up to the room. Mitaka taking up his former spot at the computer desk and Ben fishing out his art book and pen before settling up against his headboard. They sat in silence long enough for Ben’s sketch to be mostly formed before Mitaka spoke.

   “You two aren’t gonna be in here, like, making out and stuff are you? Cause I really don’t want to stay for that.”

   Ben smiled. He rather liked that idea. But he had a feeling Rey might not if the was an audience.

   “It’s probably safe to stay. ...Though I make no promises. You can see yourself out if we do.”

                                                    ~

   Rey was buzzing with excitement when she finally left work, vase full of Roses in hand. But she was also hungry. 

_    Should probably grab a bite on the way. Wouldn’t want to raid Leia’s fridge right from the get go. And I get the feeling Ben doesn’t have dinner waiting.  _

   Between bites of her Wendy’s cheeseburger, Rey flipped through her cd case to the section were she kept all her U2 albums. She slid out Rattle and Hum, skipped to Track number three, rolled down the windows, and turned up the volume. “Desire” deserved to be enjoyed loudly. 

                                                   ~

   “What is that?” Mitaka asked.

   Ben muted the tv and looked over at his friend and listened. It was muffled, but he could make out the sound of someone’s loud car stereo outside. He let out a small laugh and rose from the couch to head towards the door. 

   “That would be Rey.”

                                                 ~

   Rey quickly climbed out of her car and skipped up the side entrance she’d seen Ben use the last time she was here. Right as she went to push the doorbell the door opened, revealing Ben wearing an amused look on his face. 

   “You always listen to your music that loud?”

   Rey blinked, trying to process what it was he was asking. When she realized he was picking on her Rey rolled her eyes and scoffed. Ben offered her a full grin then and opened the door wider to let her in. 

   “Don’t complain old man. I know for a fact you listen to yours just as loud.” 

   “Not loud enough to hear from a second story bedroom!” 

   At this Rey laughed, then offered a greeting to Chewie. 

   “So I take it Mitaka is still here? I saw his van outside.”

   “Yeah. He’s upstairs. You sure you don’t mind him being here?”

 

   His tone caused Rey to stop petting the dog and look up at him. She stood and offered him a warm smile. 

   “Ben, I pretty much invited myself over. I’m not going to kick your friend out when he was here first.”

   At this he gave a small uncertain laugh and nervously combed back his hair. 

   “Yeah, I was kind of surprised you wanted to come over.”

   “Why?”

   He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just...I wasn’t sure you’d say yes.”

   She gave him a disbelieving shake of her head and headed into the house. Upon entering his room, Rey found Mitaka hunched forward and staring intently at the monitor screen. 

   "Hi Mitaka." 

   "Hey," he mumbled, not looking away. 

   Rey stood awkwardly for a moment then walked over to the couch and tried her best to act like this was something she did every day. To her surprise, Chewie jumped up to sit next to her. Secretly she was thrilled. Rey had always wanted a dog and this was something she'd always imagined happening. She flashed Ben a grin but found him frowning. 

   "Oh, sorry. Is he not allowed on your furniture?" 

   "I prefer he not be. But mom lets him and you seem to enjoy having him there."

   Rey scooted so as to make room and patted the space next to her. In reality Ben's frame probably wouldn't fit but that just meant they'd have to sit extra close to one another. As Ben attempted to wedge himself in what space was offered, Chewie jumped down and laid at their feet, all the while giving them both a look that showed his disappointment.

   “Aw. Did the mean man over here take your spot? I’m sorry Chewie,” Rey cooed.  

   “He knew better.” 

   She shrugged. “Well if I can’t pet him then I guess I’ll just have to pet you.”

   Rey leaned against him and began gently running her fingers through the soft waves of his long hair. Ben’s posture was ridged, but slowly his eyes closed as his body relaxed. Rey couldn’t help but smile as he leaned into her hand. 

   “Your fingers are like magic.”

   At this Rey laughed. “Well I don’t know about that. But I’ve always liked mine combed through. I find it very relaxing.”

   “It is.

   “Has no one ever played with your hair before?”

   “No. I never let them.”

   “Why?”

   “I don’t like being touched.”

   “Oh.” She stilled her hand.

   “No no! Keep going, please.”

   Rey did so, now massaging the base of his neck and ghosting the tip of a finger over the shell of his ear as she twirled locks of hair around her fingers. He let out a soft moan. 

   “So what changed? How come I can touch you?”

   He opened his eyes slightly, his gaze distant as if in thought. It was a few moments before he finally spoke.

   “I feel comfortable around you. ...Don’t feel like I have to pretend.”

   Rey tried to hide her smile, but beamed at his words. 

   “Here, turn sideways so I can rub your back.”

   “Oh, you don’t need to-” 

   He couldn’t find it in him to finish what he was saying. Not when her fingers had gently began to rub over the tightened muscles in his back. He imagined it as though she was painting on his back. The pads of her fingers brush strokes. Her nails defining the details. And when her design was done, her palm would wipe it all away for her to start again. Ben had never felt this relaxed.

   Done with his back, Rey moved over his broad shoulders and down his arms, reveling in just how soft his skin felt. Or...at least most of it. After a few passes, Rey stayed her left hand on his lower bicep. Questioningly she traced what felt like thin raised lines. Ben’s large hand gently wrapped around hers and folded her fingers into his palm and away from his skin. 

   “What are they?” Rey asked quietly. 

   He turned his head toward her but avoided her gaze; his expression pained. 

   “Scars.”

   Rey swallowed and slowly moved off the couch and into the floor so as to face him and to see the marks for herself. Sliver lines, barely visible in the light, could be seen crossing over a small section of his arm. 

   “It was a stupid thing to do.”

   “You made these?” she asked, now looking at him.  Her tone was quite and empathetic.

   He looked over her face, searching for any sign of judgment, then gave a small nod.

 

   “I figured physical pain might distract me from the emotional pain.” 

   Rey gave a small nod. “I get that.” At his look of uncertainty she finished, “I may not wear mine physically...but I carry them around mentally.” 

   She offered him a half-hearted smile then. He said nothing, instead choosing to raise her hand to his lips to place a gentle kiss. 

   “Hey, I’ll be right back. I’m gonna grab a-” Mitaka stated but paused upon seeing them. He let out a small nervous laugh. “Uh, you guys aren’t being gross over there, are you? Do I need to leave?”

   “Yes,” Ben said flatly.

   “No,” Rey corrected with a grin. She leaned over so as to see Mitaka. “Really. We’re not. Just talking.”

   “Yeah, okay,” he said skeptically. “Well I’m gonna grab a snack. Be right back. If you two start...you know...warn me first.”

   Leaving the door halfway open, Mitaka headed down the stairs. Rey looked back to Ben and laughed. 

   “You should have told him we were,” he said, kissing her hand once more.

 

   Rey giggled but stood to grab the tv remote and handed it to him.

   “Hey, you invited him,” she reminded as she made herself comfortable on his lap and rested her head in the crook of his neck. 

   Ben sighed as he began flipping through the different channels. “I regret that decision.”

                                                  ~

   They’d already settled into watching Attack Of The Show when Mitaka came back and resumed his spot at the computer; his crunching of chips loud enough to make Ben angrily turn up the volume. It then dawned on him that Rey was probably also hungry.

   “Shit. Rey would you like something to eat? Amilyn said you took an early lunch.”

   She chuckled and nuzzled his neck. “Thanks for the offer but I had a feeling you wouldn’t have a romantic dinner waiting for me. So I grabbed Wendy’s on the way here.”

   Ben felt a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry. I should have made you something. I promise, I’ll make it up to you. I’ll take you out on an actual date our next day off together. Whatever you want to do, we’ll do it.” 

   She hummed in approval. “That sounds nice. I’ll hold you to it! ...I’ll accept a stereotypical movie and dinner date.” 

   He couldn’t help but laugh. “You have low standards.”

   “Good thing you meet all of them,” she teased. 

   “Good for me maybe. Not so much for you.”

   “Goofball.”

   “So what shall we go see?”

   She paused. “Cars.”

   At that he laughed. “Cars? You really want to go see a kids movie?”

   “Hey, I like Pixar films! And they aren’t just for kids. Adults enjoy them too. ...Besides. I think it will be funny to tell people in the future that our first movie together was Cars.” 

   He couldn’t help but smile at her words. 

                                                  ~

   Rey really didn’t want to leave, but seeing how it was already eight thirty and that tomorrow was another morning shift, she decided it was time to head home. She gave Chewie a loving scratch behind the ears and bid Mitaka a goodnight, to which he actually turned around to acknowledge her departure. 

   Ben followed after her to see her out, holding her hand the whole way. Once at the door he whirled her around and wrapped his arms around her. 

   “I’m glad you came by.”

   “I’m glad you asked me out.”

   At this she felt him kiss her hair. “Be safe going home. You gonna come by again tomorrow?”

   She stepped back so she could look at him. Even in the dim lighting he was handsome. 

   “If you’d like me to.”

   “I would.” Then his charming crooked grin stretched across his face. “I’ll be sure to tell Mitaka he’s not allowed over.”   

   Rey couldn’t help but giggle. She liked the sound of that. Then she stood on her toes and pulled him down for a kiss. Small and simple. 

   “I’ve wanted to do that for months,” she mumbled.

   His only reply was another kiss. Followed by another. And another; each growing more and more bold. Rey had missed this. But she knew this moment had to end at some point, so she reluctantly she leaned closer to hug him. 

   “Goodnight Ben.”

   “Goodnight Rey.”

   “I love you.”

   “I love you too.”

****  
  


 

   Rey couldn’t stop smiling as she got into her car. This, deep down, felt right. And apparently fate felt that way too. As soon as she turned her speaker volume down, Track seventeen began to play, and Rey lost herself to the music as Bono sung “All I Want Is You”. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be an epilogue. I hope you've enjoyed this silly little Reylo take on my personal life.


	19. Epilogue: 13 Years Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This last chapter is a peak into Ben and Rey's life thirteen years later.

   Rey bounced Anakin on her leg, trying to keep the three month old happy. Unlike her other three children, this one was not a fan of the hot sun or sand. And she couldn’t exactly blame him. She liked the ocean but hated how the sand got everywhere.

   Looking out she found Selene and Bruce playing in the surf with Leia keeping watch. Nearby she spotted Maz helping Cortana put shells into a bucket. Rey smiled as her two mother figures and children enjoyed themselves. The only thing that could make this moment better is if Ben hadn’t had been stuck at work having to make sure the new software roll out didn’t somehow go wrong. He’d already spent the last month traveling off and on to all his job’s locations to run new cable for their machines.

   Rey caught herself sighing as she handed Anakin her sweaty bottle of water to play with and fished her phone out of her bag. She smiled when she saw a text notification from the exact person on her mind.

                                                                                                                                BEN

                                                                                                                                                   How’s the beach?

                                                                                            Hot. ...Anakin hates it.

                                                                                                                                                   Lol

                                                                                                                                                   At least you’ll have someone

                                                                                                                                                   who’ll want to hide under the

                                                                                                                                                   umbrella with you.

                                                                                           Funny

                                                                                           I miss you

                                                                                                                                                   Miss you too

                                                                                           How’s work?

                                                                                                                                                   Hectic. But thankfully we haven’t

                                                                                                                                                   had any problems.

                                                                                          That’s good.

                                                                                                                                                   I have to go. I’ll call before bed.

                                                                                                                                                   Love you

 

   Rey frowned and put her phone off to the side. She looked down at Anakin and found him trying his best to eat the bottle. She laughed took a picture to send to Ben.

 

                                                                                                                            ~

 

   “Night kids,” Ben’s voice called out over the phone’s speaker.

   “Night, dad.”

   “GOODNIGHT!”

   “Good night daddy. I miss you!”

   “Miss you too sweetheart. Get some good sleep. I’ll see you in two days.”

 

   Rey watched as they walked up the stairs; the girls off to their room and Bruce to his own.

 

   “Hey, can I call you back? Anakin’s asleep next to me and I need both hands to put him in the Pack-N-Play.”

   “Sure.”

 

   She ended the call, picked up Anakin, and slowly carried him towards his travel bed. Once she was sure he’d stay asleep she tiptoed out onto the balcony. This was a rare moment of quiet solitude and Rey took a deep breath to soak it all in. There was something magical about moonlight shimmering on the waves. Ben would have been out here claiming to enjoy it too if he were here. Or at least that’s what he’d say if she asked. Rey let out a short laugh at the thought. What he really would have been doing is sitting and scrolling through Reddit on his phone.

   Rey then grabbed her phone and called back Ben.

 

   “Hey sexy lady.”

   “Hey yourself. You settled in for the night?”

   “Getting ready to be.”

   “You’re missing out on a great view. I’ll have to text you a picture.”

   “...I mean, if you want to send me some nudes, I’m down for that.”

   “What!” Rey then covered her mouth to muffle her giggling. “No, Ben. I meant of the ocean.”

   “Oh. ...Well I’m sure that looks nice too. Rather see you though.”

   “Hmm. I’ll think about it.”

 

   The was silence for a moment; Ben yawning on the other end.

 

   “You sound tired.”

   “I am. I got up early and used the hotel’s gym before going in to work.”

   “Mmm. That’s a nice mental image. Good workout?”

   “Yeah. I was the only one in there that early, so that was nice.”

   “Hmm.”

   “So I booked our Anniversary trip.”

   “Yeah? Where are we going?”

   “Not telling. I want it to be a surprise.”

   “Come on. Please? Just a little hint?”

   “Nope.”

   “Well I can’t wait to go. We need some alone time. ...You did book it for before the kids go back to school, right?”

   “What? Oh God! I totally forgot we have kids!”

   “Ha. Ha.”

   “Yes, I did. It's that weekend before they go back.”

   “Cool.”

 

   This time Rey yawned into the phone.

 

   “You should probably go to bed. You sound tired too. And I’m sure Anakin will make up soon to eat.”

   “Oh you know he will. Your probably right though.”

   “Why don’t you go ahead to bed. I’m getting ready to face plant into this hard mattress anyways.”

   Rey couldn't help but laugh. “Alright. ...Goodnight sexy man. Love you.”

   “Night sexy lady. Love you too. Get some good sleep.”

   “Bye.”

   “Bye.”

 

   Rey tiptoed back into the room and crawled into the bed. It wasn’t as soft as their bed back home but it wasn’t terrible. She grabbed the extra pillow and hugged it tightly. Just like she used to when she’d be lying in her old college dorm, thinking about Ben all those years ago. The real thing turned out much better than a pillow, but a lonely girl had to make due with what she had.

   After a few minutes she began to drift off. A small smile on lips as she imagined Ben fast asleep snoring. At least he’d wake up in the morning without being covered in her drool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, those really are the names of our children. Selene Eowyn (Underworld & Lord of the Rings), Bruce Wayne (Batman), Cortana Vale (Halo), and Anakin Ben (Star Wars). All nerdy things I love and were hinted at in this fic.
> 
> Thank you all for taking the time to read this silly slice of my life! Hope you enjoyed it.


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